While a replacement for Katrina Kaif, who opted out recently, is yet to be found, the musical kicks off on Jan 22; will move to London next month
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 3, 2019)

After some hardcore action in Karan Johar’s period drama Kalank, it’s time to dance for Varun Dhawan. Remo D’souza’s yet-untitled musical rolls on January 22 with the actor playing a boy from Punjab who grows up in London. “During the first seven-day schedule in Punjab, a song and a few scenes will be shot after which the team moves to UK in the first week of February. A major chunk of the film will be shot in London, and it wraps up mid-April,” informs a source close to the development.

Like the Hollywood franchise Step Up, this film too will culminate with a face-off between two teams, one from India, the other from a western country. “It chronicles the journey of the underdogs who go on to defeat the champions. While Varun leads the Indian contingent, the makers are in talks with an international dancer to come on board as his competitor,” adds the source.

Prabhu Dheva features in a pivotal role of a mediator between two competing teams. Produced by Bhushan Kumar, the film which opens on November 8, also marks the acting debut of Shakti Mohan, winner of Dance India Dance, season one, and a mentor on Remo’s talent hunt show Dance Plus. Vartika Jha, a participant in the latter, will also graduate to the big screen. Katrika Kaif who was a part of the project, opted out recently as the dates clashed with Salman Khan’s period drama Bharat.

Though the details of the characters have been kept under wraps so far, sources confirm that the film doesn’t really have a well-established romantic track between Varun and the female lead. It focuses more on training sessions and the dance competition instead.

“The film will be shot in the 3D format, while there are also plans to convert it into the 4DX format as well. The attempt is to scale new heights in this genre,” said the source. 

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 22, 2018)

Varun Dhawan and Katrina Kaif’s first film together, ABC3D, takes off in Punjab in January before moving to London and marks the acting debut of three newbies. A source associated with the film reveals, “Remo (Dsouza, the film’s director) has been in talks with popular international dancers to feature opposite Varun. The chosen dancer, who is expected to be finalised soon, will have a significant role in the film.”

Also making her acting debut is Shakti Mohan, winner of Dance India Dance season one, who has previously featured on the big screen in the song “Aa Re Pritam Pyare” from Rowdy Rathore and another number in Remo’s previous production, Nawabzaade. She is currently seen as mentor on Remo’s talent hunt show Dance Plus.

With ABC3D, Remo is also launching Vartika Jha, a contestant from his show, as an actress. He has also promised a role in the Bhushan Kumar and Lizelle D’souza production to whoever wins the show.

Varun and Katrina start prep for ABC3D by November-end. While the former is busy filming Abhishek Varman’s Kalank with Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapur, Katrina has been shooting for the Salman Khan and Disha Patani co-starrer Bharat.

Remo remained tight-lipped about the international dancer but confirmed Shakti and Vartika’s presence in the film, saying, “I’m launching Shakti and Vartika, whose performances I’ve loved. I had promised to launch Shakti long ago but it didn’t happen so this was the perfect opportunity. It’s too early to reveal other details but we start in Punjab and have a major shoot in London next year. Varun and Katrina are fantastic performers and so are the rest of the team.”

Last week, the choreographer-turned-filmmaker was in Punjab on a recce with wife Lizelle, where they paid a visit to the Golden Temple, among other locations.

While buzz is that Varun and Katrina aren’t paired opposite each other in the film, the source revealed that the actor-duo will be seen as an unconventional romantic pair. Mirror had previously reported (October 18) that the film will be shot over two-and-half months and is expected to wrap up by March next year. The film has been titled ABC3D to highlight its 3D format.