“Vicky Kaushal will remain my first choice for all my films,” says director Aditya Dhar

The thunderous success of his debut film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) spring-boarded filmmaker Aditya Dhar to overnight fame. Headlined by rising star Vicky Kaushal, the patriotic drama did not only leave the cash registers jingling at the box-office, but also went on to bag several prestigious awards, including four National Film Awards.

Director Aditya Dhar is currently working on his next directorial, titled The Immortal Ashwatthama. He reunites with Uri: The Surgical Strike actor Vicky Kaushal who plays the male lead in his next. Talking to an Indian daily, Dhar says that Kaushal will always be his first choice for all his films.

“My criteria is simple, I require fantastic actors who are ready to give their best and are easy to work with. I don’t like people with a lot of baggage and rather those who are simple and straightforward and their agenda is to make a brilliant film. If my priority is Ashwatthama, my actor’s priority should also be Ashwatthama. Vicky fits the character, it was a no-brainer for me because when he is doing a project, then nothing else matters to me, he will give his blood and sweat for it, he did that with Uri. And he will remain my first choice for all my films,” says the filmmaker.

The Immortal Ashwatthama is an action-based superhero film to be shot in a start-to-finish schedule across such locations as Greenland, Tokyo, New Zealand and Namibia. Vicky Kaushal will be required to gain weight and later lose it all in order to get into the skin of his character. Producer Ronnie Screwvala, who bankrolled Uri: The Surgical Strike, is producing The Immortal Ashwatthama.