Shekhar Kapur’s Paani finally takes off

Veteran director Shekhar Kapur has been working on his most ambitious project, Paani, for around 13 years now. But Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer couldn’t see the light of day due to many reasons — frequent cast changes and exorbitant budget, among others. But it is finally going to floors in August.

Veteran director Shekhar Kapur has been working on his most ambitious project, Paani, for around 13 years now. But the film couldn’t see the light of day due to many reasons — frequent cast changes and exorbitant budget, among others. But it looks it is finally going on the floors.

HT Image

Paani is set in 2050, and tells the story of a time where water, a rare resource, is controlled by international corporations and thirst is used as weapon to control people.

"The film is going on floors in the first week of August. The script, screenplay and dialogue have been locked completely and the pre-production work is going on in full swing," says

Kapur

.

Ask him if the entire film will be shot in chroma-key (a green screen in the background), he says, "No film can be shot entirely in chroma, but yes, a huge chunk will be shot like that, say 70 to 80 per cent."

The film stars

Sushant Singh Rajput.

In the past, names like Vivek Oberoi and Hrithik Roshan were also considered. But Kapur refuses to reveal the female actor who’s paired opposite Sushant. "We have finalised the girl but can’t reveal her name right now," says Kapur.

According to a source, a major recording studio in the city has been booked for the shooting of the film in August.

In the past, many Hollywood names like

Kristen Stewart

and

Jennifer Lawrence

were doing the rounds for the heroine’s role.