Following the release of The Archies which marked his debut in the film industry, Agastya Nanda is now gearing up for a big screen debut. While the Zoya Akhtar directorial was released on Netflix, Sriram Raghavan’s next Ikkis is set for the silver screen, marking Agastya’s first theatrical project. For the same, he will begin workshops towards the end of December 2023 and continue until January 2024 first half. After this, he will kick off the shoot for the Arun Khetarpal biopic.
As per a report in Pinkvilla, a source revealed, “2023 was an eventful year for Agastya as not just did he make his acting debut with The Archies, but also signed on for a Sriram Raghavan film. Agastya has attended several acting workshops with the Sriram and specially trained acting coaches to polish his body language and step into the shoes of India’s most celebrated war hero, Arun Khetarpal.”
The source further said, “December and the first half of January will be spent by Agastya in reading the script and also doing some workshops to rehearse for the schedule ahead. Sriram wanted a young actor to play the part of Arun Khetarpal and feels that Agastya fits the role like a hand in a glove. After months of prep, Sriram and Agastya are now all set to commence the journey of bringing the heroic tale to the big screen.”
Varun Dhawan was earlier part of the project. However, there was a casting change after which Agastya Nanda was roped in. A source informed Bollywood Hungama, in December 2022, “The age factor. The Param Vir Chakra-winning soldier Arun Khetarpal on whom the film is based died defending our country at 21. Varun is now 35. So chronologically they don’t match. When Ikkis was announced three years ago Sriram thought he would pull it off with Varun. But now everyone felt the actor playing Arun Khetarpal must be younger. Agastya is just the right age to play Arun Khetarpal.”
For unversed, Arun Khetarpal was a Second Lieutenant in the Indian Army who posthumously received the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military award, for his exemplary courage and sacrifice during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. A memorial named "Arun's Chowk" was built at the spot where he fought valiantly, and it stands as a tribute to his bravery. ALSO READ: Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor starrer The Archies gets Amul Topical tribute, see photo
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