In 2020, Varun Dhawan announced that he was reuniting with his Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania director Shashank Khaitan for another project titled Mr Lele. The first poster of it increased my curiosity regarding the film. Later on, it was reported that Janhvi Kapoor was to star in the film opposite Varun, and I was more excited to witness this pairing come alive on screen. But things didn’t quite work out as first it was reported that Janhvi has exited the project due to date issues and then even Varun left, and the project was eventually shelved. But seems like the pairing is again set to get together.
Recently, it was reported that Varun was planning to do a film with Nitesh Tiwari, which would be backed by Sajid Nadiadwala. Now, according to a report in Peeping Moon, the film has been finalised with Janhvi as the actor’s leading lady in it.
A source close to the development said:
“Varun Dhawan has been committed to a Sajid Nadiadwala film since 2020. They were collaborating for an unabashed commercial entertainer titled Sanki that was being directed by Kesari fame Anurag Singh. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic that brought a huge shift to the audiences’ taste, courtesy of the boom of OTT platforms, Varun and Nadiadwala decided to call off the project and work on something else that’s not just a masala potboiler. And that’s when Nadiadwala pitched him Nitesh Tiwari’s film. When Janhvi was approached, she also gave her nod immediately and everything fell into place soon.”
The report further added that the shoot of the film is set to go underway in the first quarter of next year. Whereas Varun will complete this entertaining love story first before moving on to Sriram Raghavan’s Ekkis, Janhvi will first wrap up work on Mr and Mrs Mahi and then get on to this. Varun is reportedly in talks for an action-packed story with Mohit Suri and a slice-of-life drama with Rajkumar Hirani as well.
Janhvi’s film choices have always been quite unique and different as she has Aanand L Rai’s Good Luck Jerry and Milli also on the cards. Whereas Varun is also embarking upon a diverse slate of projects that include Jug Jugg Jeeyo and Bhediya releasing next year. It would be an interesting pair up to see these two together on screen, and with a visionary like Nitesh backing them, I am sure this is going to be worth a watch.