Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 17, 2019)
In October 2017, Karan Johar announced Ayan Mukerji’s next directorial, Brahmastra, with Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan and Nagarjuna, and confirmed that plans were afoot to turn it into a trilogy. The film went on the floors in Bulgaria in February 2018 with a month-long shoot, followed by marathon schedules in London, New York, Scotland and finally, Varanasi, where all central characters meet for the first time in the story.
Now, Mirror has learnt that the team is gearing up to kick off another schedule of the summer 2020 release. “Ranbir, Alia and the entire cast will fly to Manali in November for a 15-day shoot. Every location carries Shiva’s (RK’s character) story forward. Manali, too, plays an important role in the screenplay,” revealed a source close to the development, adding that the idea is to capture the Himalayas in all its glory.
The film’s premise takes several cues from Indian mythology. “All the locations in India that feature in the story reference the central characters. During the Manali schedule, the story of Shiva’s origin and self-discovery will be traced,” the source shared.
The protagonist emits fire from his palms and the concept was executed after a lot of research. “The first instalment in the trilogy narrates Shiva’s discovery of the ‘agni’ within him,” added the source. Alia plays her real-life beau’s screen love interest, Isha.
The film, which was initially titled Dragon, with RK’s character called Rumi, has been shot for nearly 130 days so far. A London-based team is working on the post-production, including visual effects, simultaneously with the shoot.
The new and final release date of the film, which was initially slated for a Christmas 2019 opening, will be announced after a majority of the VFX work is complete. It is targeting a mid-2020 release.
Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt off to Manali for the latest schedule of Brahmastra
