After wrapping up Bachchan Pandey, actor Akshay Kumar is set to start shooting for his next, Ram Setu. The actor, along with director Abhishek Sharma and creative producer Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi, will fly to Ayodhya on March 18 to give the mahurat shot at Ram Janmabhoomi.

“Ram Setu is a bridge between generations past, present and future,” Akshay says.

Director Abhishek Sharma reveals the shoot will be spread across multiple schedules over the next few months, with 80 per cent of the film shot in Mumbai. The director also adds that Akshay will be seen in a new avatar. “Akshay sir plays an archaeologist and his look and character are inspired by several Indian and international professional archaeologists who work in the field. In terms of both look and character, Akshay sir’s fans are in for a totally new avatar.”

Ram Setu features Jacqueline Fernandez and Nushrratt Bharuccha as the female leads. “They both play strong, independent women with well-etched-out parts. We are keeping their looks under wraps for now,” Abhishek adds. 

The journey of Ram Setu started for the filmmaker back in 2007 when he “first read newspaper coverage about a court case related to a project to build a shipping canal in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka and the issues that the project was facing.” He elaborates, “I found this to be an opportunity to explore the truth behind an Indian legend and was amazed at the magnitude of the subject. It’s like I was being presented with the possibility to bring forward a true story that would connect generations of Indians to a part of our heritage that was not getting the attention it deserved.”

The makers claim that the film is grounded in research. Abhishek adds that “the research process was to gain a comprehensive understanding on the subject and to create a film on this true story that is based on and supported by facts.”