Varun Dhawan has always been an actor who can do both comedy and intense films with the equal flair, amirite? Be it a Coolie No. 1 or a Badlapur, these films are proof of that. Now, Varun’s set to get into intense mode yet again with his film, Ekkis.
Ekkis is Varun’s second outing with filmmaker Sriram Raghavan after Badlapur. It is a biopic based on the life of Param Vir Chakra recipient Army Officer Arun Khetarpal. The filming was set to begin last year, but due to the pandemic it got pushed.
While Varun was busy working on Raj Mehta‘s Jug Jugg Jeeyo and promoting Coolie No. 1 at the end of 2020, this year he is set to start prep on Ekkis from May. And mind you, he is going to go into some super intense and serious prep and training – both physically and to imbibe the qualities of an Army Officer.
Talking to Times Of India, director Sriram Raghavan says:
We have been prepping for the film as much as possible. The pre-production work has been on, but now we have to work around the new scheme of things. Weather-wise, we would have liked to start the film last September and wrap up by now, but the lockdown just pushed everything ahead.
Adding about Varun’s preparation for the role, the director shares:
After completing his pending commitments, Varun will start preparing for his role in Ekkis from May this year. He has to lose weight, take the training that’s meant for army officers, spend some time at the National Defence Academy (NDA) and go through the grind to prepare for his role. We intend to start shooting in September 2021 and complete the film by January 2022, because weather-wise it works well for the film. That’s the timeline we are following right now. In the meantime, we’re also working out our plan for the VFX of the film and how scenes will be shot because we have to recreate
a specific time zone.
Now, I sure am super excited to see Varun play an Army Officer for the first time in this intense drama!
And given we have seen the director-actor duo do some amazing work together with Badlapur, I am looking forward to their collaboration in Ekkis too!