Sriram Raghavan is now gearing up to start shooting for his upcoming movie titled Ikkis. The director revealed the reason for replacing Varun Dhawan with newcomer Agastya Nanda.
Sriram Raghavan and Varun Dhawan previously teamed up for Badlapur. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were reports that they would work together again on the biographical war drama Ikkis. However, in 2022, it was announced that Varun had been replaced by Agastya Nanda, known for his role in The Archies. Discussing the change, the director of Merry Christmas told a leading news portal, “Initially, it had Varun Dhawan, and then after the pandemic, we had a chat about how he won’t suit.”
He discussed the film based on the life of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal PVC, stating, “It is a bigger production; there will be tank battles and all those things that happen in a war film. But it is also a human story; it’s a drama, a coming-of-age kind of a thing.”
The director-producer expressed his delight about working with Dharmendra again, stating, “It is wonderful. We have shot a bit of the film. He is playing Arun’s father. When Arun died at the age of 21, his father was 51 years old or so, and in the year 2000, his father was in his early 80s.”
See Also: Agastya Nanda opens up about working with Dharmendra and Jaideep Ahlawat in Ikkis