Earlier this year, director Laxman Utekar had announced his next collaboration with Vicky Kaushal, in which the actor will play Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. Now, in an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, the filmmaker opened up about his preparations for this much awaited film, and on when he plans to take it on the floors. “First of all, Vicky is a very good performer as we all know. You can see it in any of his films. At the same time, he is an amazing person. Secondly, when the script was ready, we wanted an actor whose personality matches with Sambhaji Maharaj. That personality and that physicality only Vicky has from the younger lot of actors. So I thought he would be a perfect casting for Sambhaji Maharaj,” said Laxman.
Utekar also shares details about Vicky Kaushal’s prep for the film. “We start shooting in September. We are already in pre-production, and began the prep two months ago. Vicky’s training is going on because he has to gain weight, and go beyond 100 kgs. He is undergoing training for horse riding and sword fighting. So all the training is going on. Rest of the casting and location hunting is also underway,” stated the filmmaker. 
Zara Hatke Zara Bachke
Meanwhile, they are presently promoting their soon to release family drama - Zara Hatke Zara Bachke. Besides Vicky Kaushal, the film also stars Sara Ali Khan in the lead. It’s scheduled to release on June 2.
Vicky also has Meghna Gulzar’s Sam Bahadur with Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Anand Tiwari’s Mere Mehboob Mere Sanam with Triptii Dimri, in the pipeline.
