Karan Johar’s epic 15-year dream materialises
Karan Johar’s next production promises to be “an emotional journey”, as the film was his late father Yash Johar’s dream project. After Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Karan was all set to work on this film, but after his father’s untimely demise in 2004, he put the project on the backburner. And now, 15 years later, he is ready to revisit the idea with Abhishek Varman, who will be helming the film. The project is titled Kalank, and is an epic drama set in the 1940s.
Talking about it, Karan says, “Kalank has been an emotional journey for me. A germ of an idea that I had nearly 15 years ago; a film that was in a pre-production stage helmed by my father. I am now proud to pass it on to the extremely capable and visionary hands of our director, Abhishek. The film is a beautifully structured story by Shibani Bathija, and has an exceptionally fluid narrative and screenplay by Abhishek.”
A source from the production unit says, “When Yash Johar was toying with the idea of making this epic drama, he had done a lot of research. He had even visited Lahore to understand how the situation could have been in the ’40s, but he couldn’t start the project. After almost 15 years, Fox Star Studios, Dharma productions and Nadiadwala Grandsons Entertainment (NGE) will jointly produce this film, which stars Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Sonakshi Sinha, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Sanjay Dutt.”
Sajid Nadiadwala, who is more than happy with the collaboration, says, “April 18 2014 was when 2 States had released, and now on April 18, 2018, Kalank begins its journey. This multi-starrer has a story will cross all borders and will be historic in the true sense of the word. I am genuinely happy to be back with the team, as this film is special to all of us.”
Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox, says, “Our creative and strategic partnership with Dharma and Nadiadwala Grandsons has been successful and rewarding. Our association with Dharma gave us an excellent opportunity to be a part of 100-crore hits like Badrinath Ki Dulhania and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. And with NGE, we presented back-to-back blockbusters such as Judwaa 2 and Baaghi 2. With Karan Johar and Sajid Nadiadwala coming together, it will be a path breaker and great team to work with.”
Produced by Karan Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta, the film releases on April 19, 2019.
The film is a beautifully structured story by Shibani Bathija, and has an exceptionally fluid narrative and screenplay. KARAN JOHAR, FILM-MAKER