MUMBAI: On January 13, 2020, Varun Dhawan took to his social media to announce that he was reuniting with his director of the Dulhania franchise, Shashank Khaitan, for a quirky comedy, Mr Lele. The poster of the film was released alongside the announcement with a release date of January 1, 2021. Janhvi Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar were finalised as Varun’s leading ladies and soon after, Abhishek Banerjee, known for his stint as Jana in Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor’s Stree, joined the cast.
However, before the film could go on floors, Coronavirus-induced lockdown halted the development of the film. Shortly after, Varun and Shashank parted ways due to alleged creative differences and the film was put on the backburner. But recently, reports started doing rounds that the film has been revived again with Vicky Kaushal stepping in Varun’s shoes while Kiara Advani will be replacing Janhvi. Although, Abhishek confirms that he won’t be a part of the revival.
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“No, I couldn’t do Mr Lele because they were shooting for the film in April, and at the same time I had to shoot for Amar Kaushik’s Bhediya with Varun and Kriti Sanon. I had a meeting with Shashank before and we tried to figure out a way for me to come on board, but we couldn’t. Also, I was shooting in Arunachal Pradesh, very far from Mumbai and it wasn’t even like I could fly back and forth easily. That film couldn’t happen but me and Shashank are really fond of each other and hopefully, we will work together one day for sure,” Abhishek assures.
Mr Lele was reportedly ready to go on floors in Mumbai in April with Vicky, Kiara and Bhumi but the shoot had to be delayed due to Vicky and Bhumi, both testing Covid-19 positive.
Stay tuned to this space for more updates and gossips.
Credits: Spotboye
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