Karan Johar's Dharma to recast Dostana 2, says official announcement will be out soon. See statement

Dharma Productions issued a statement on Friday, stating the the film would be recast. It refrained from saying anything else. See here.

Karan Johar's Dharma Productions will be recasting their upcoming film, Dostana 2. The company issued a statement on their Instagram page.

Karan Johar will produce Dostana 2.

The note read: "Due to professional circumstances, on which we have decided to maintain a dignified silence - we will be recasting Dostana 2, directed by Collin D'Cunha. Please wait for the official announcement soon."

The original cast of Dostana 2 had included Janhvi Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan and TV actor Lakshya. There has been much speculation around Kartik reportedly quitting the film over 'creative differences'.

In 2019, Karan had announced that he is making a sequel to his 2008 film Dostana. In the film, two guys, played by Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham, pretend to be gay to share a flat with a girl, with whom they both fall in love. The film had come under fire for its representation of gay people.

This time around, Karan had assured that the subject would be treated with sensitivity. In an interview with PTI, Karan had said that Dostana was a conversation starter, so there was a depiction of sexuality that was “caricaturish, even in a cinema that I had produced”. He added that today he wouldn’t do that. “The evolution is from one Dostana to the other. Dostana one that released in 2008 and the Dostana 2 that’s releasing in 2020, you will see that the representation is accurate, non-caricaturish and on point, talking about sexuality in a way that will not make you cringe while watching it. So therein lies the fact that in the last 12 years, there has been a solid change in the way we depict gay characters. Even in Kapoor & Sons and the way it was depicted."

The film's shoot was postponed owning to the coronavirus pandemic.

The film will also launch Karan's new find, TV actor Lakshya. Sharing the news, Karan had written: "Both happy and excited to introduce the new kid on the Dharma block! LAKSHYA will be making his debut with us in #DOSTANA2 and from thereon, we hope to start a solid cinematic journey together! Please welcome @itslakshya and shower him with all your love and blessings..."