Vijay Deverakonda picks Abhishek Kapoor's next on Balakot airstrike for Bollywood debut?

Right after the Indian Air Force (IAF) had conducted an airstrike against a terrorist training camp in the disputed region of Kashmir and dropped several bombs in the vicinity of the town of Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan on 26 February, 2019, a number of Indian filmmakers had rushed to the Producers Guild of India to register movie titles revolving around the Balakot airstrike.

Filmmakers Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bhushan Kumar, and Abhishek Kapoor were the first ones to come together and announce a film based on the airstrike. Months after the official announcement, we hear that the makers have finally zeroed in on their male lead.

A source in the know shares some important details with an entertainment portal and says, “The untitled project on the Balakot airstrike will mostly be South superstar Vijay Deverakonda's big Bollywood debut. While his next film Fighter will be dubbed in Hindi and given a pan-India release, Abhishek's directorial will be his full-fledged Hindi feature.”

The source goes on to add that Deverakonda will play the character of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who was held captive in Pakistan for 60 hours after his aircraft was shot down in an aerial dogfight during the 2019 India–Pakistan standoff.

“He will play the role of Wing Commander and national hero Abhinandan Varthaman who was kept captive in Pakistan for 60 hours following the India-Pakistan standoff. The film will trace the Pulwama attack, the airstrike, and Abhinandan's time in captivity in the neighbouring country and his return to India,” the source adds.

As per the source, the star has given his verbal nod to the project. “When Vijay was offered the project, he expressed his interest in it. While he still has not signed on the dotted line, the COVID outbreak delayed things further. Right now, the team has no clue when to bring the film on the floors. Abhishek will first finish his film with Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor and then proceed with this ambitious project,” concludes the source.