Though he has been busy with daughter Ira’s wedding, work never took a backseat for Aamir Khan. His production house is scheduled to commence filming Lahore, 1947—his first collaboration with Sunny Deol—in early February. The film will be directed by one of his favourite directors, Rajkumar Santoshi.

This will be Deol’s next film after the mammoth success of Gadar 2: The Katha Continues. Aamir Khan Productions made the announcement on Instagram in October, seeking blessings from his fans for the collaboration.

“The production team has strategically chosen locations for shooting, including the SRPF grounds, another sprawling grounds in Goregaon, and Film City. They are waiting for permission on the Goregaon grounds before beginning construction,” informs a source, adding that the decision was made after Santoshi conducted a thorough recce of the locations.

The period film is expected to explore the historical backdrop of Lahore in 1947. Interestingly, the movie in question is the National Award-winning director’s passion project, Lahore, 1947. For over a decade, Santoshi has been keen on bringing to the screen novelist-writer Asghar Wajahat’s Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya O Jamyai Nai.

The source adds, “[Santoshi] is clear about what he wants and has a meticulous approach to capturing the essence of the narrative.” As this project kicks off in February, Khan too will begin his film—his next after Laal Singh Chaddha, directed by R S Prasanna—around the same time.