'Fukrey 3' shoot delayed by few months, says franchise star Richa Chadha

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Actor Richa Chadha says the shooting schedule of her comedy "Fukrey 3" was pushed ahead as the movie involved filming of large crowd sequences. Directed by Mrigdeep Singh Lamba, the Delhi-set film was gearing to go on floors in April but was put on hold due to the lockdown in Maharashtra in view of the alarming rise in the COVID-19 cases.

"Fukrey 3" is backed by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment. Chadha, who plays local gangster Bholi Punjaban in the franchise, said the crew is likely to reteam to shoot the film by the end of the year or early 2022.

"'Fukrey 3' was supposed to start on April 10 but then the lockdown happened a few days before. So now it has been delayed by a few months, because it has large crowd scenes to shoot. But it will happen. The film is like my home base.

"With Excel Entertainment I have a certain comfort level, so we can always work together, whenever, I love that team. By the likes of it, keeping everyone's dates and personal commitments in mind, it will perhaps happen at the end of this year or early next year," Chadha, who also stars in Excel's web series for Amazon Prime Video "Inside Edge", told PTI in an interview.

The film series follows four friends -- played by Ali Fazal, Pulkit Samrat, Sharma and Manjot Singh -- who come together to make easy money. Earlier this year, Chadha, along with her actor fiance Fazal, announced their first project as producers "Girls Will Be Girls".

The coming-of-age story will be produced through their newly-launched banner Pushing Buttons Studios. Debutante filmmaker Shuchi Talati will direct the movie from her own script.

The 34-year-old actor said the film is currently in the "advanced" stage of development. "'Girls Will Be Girls' just got done with the Jerusalem script lab... We have French co-producers for this one, just like how 'Masaan' was an Indo-French production. It is in the advanced stage of development right now. The script is nearing its shooting draft but we are crewing up.

"We have had our first round of interviews with our female crew members and HODs, it was nice to be in a different position. We are currently going to look for fundraising opportunities and financiers and co producers," she added.

Set in an elite boarding school in a small Himalayan hill town, the story is about 16-year-old Mira, whose sexy, rebellious coming-of-age is hijacked by her mother who never got to come of age.

Apart from this, Chadha is also working on her own script, which she said has elements of "surrealism, satire".

"The first draft of the script is ready. I have a pitch session with some people soon," she added.

The actor, who currently stars in Voot Select's web series "Candy", will also be seen in the third season of Amazon Prime Video series "Inside Edge" and filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia's Disney+ Hotstar murder mystery series "Six Suspects".