Shashank Khaitan and Varun Dhawan have formally announced that their upcoming film, Mr Lele, has been postponed. Announced a little over a month ago, the film has now been put on the back burner. Khaitan put up an official post on his social media page, citing 'unavailability of dates' as the reason.
The director wrote, "Karan, Varun, and I have mutually decided to postpone the shooting of the film. It's a script we all love and am sure will revisit soon. But scheduling the film was turning out to be very tough, as the film had a very solid ensemble cast and the dates were just not falling into place."
@Varun_dvn @karanjohar @apoorvamehta18 @DharmaMovies pic.twitter.com/UrkfeL8xQM
— Shashank Khaitan (@ShashankKhaitan) March 5, 2020
However, the latter part of Khaitan's statement indicates that the project might be scrapped altogether. He wrote, "I am very sure Varun and I will collaborate soon, either on Mr Lele itself, or on something new, as collaborating with him has been the most joyful and fulfilling experience of my life."
The film would have marked the fourth collaboration between Khaitan and Dhawan, following Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) and Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017). The duo had also signed on for the Dharma Productions' Rannbhoomi.
Mr Lele's first poster saw Dhawan almost bare it all while holding a gun gingerly. The quirky poster did gather some interest for the Dharma Productions venture.
Dhawan is currently shooting for Coolie No 1 with Sara Ali Khan. The film is directed by Varun's father, David Dhawan, and will be released in theatres on 1 May 2020.