Vicky Kaushal to essay Aurangzeb, Ranveer to play Dara Shikoh in Karan Johar's Takht

Period epics are the flavour of the season and Karan Johar’s production house, Dharma Productions, will soon be coming out with two big offerings in the genre. First up is Kalank, a romantic drama set in Partition-era India and starring Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, and Sonakshi Sinha. Directed by Abhishek Varman, the film is scheduled for release on April 19.

Kalank will be followed by Takht — a historical revenge-drama set in the Mughal court. Directed by Karan Johar himself, the film has an ensemble cast that includes Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Anil Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, and Bhumi Pednekar. It is learnt that Ranveer Singh will portray the character of Dara Shikoh, while Vicky Kaushal will play his younger brother, Aurangzeb. Dara Shikoh was the eldest heir and favoured successor of Emperor Shah Jahan. In a skirmish for the Mughal throne, Shikoh was defeated and later murdered by Aurangzeb, who became the sixth Mughal emperor and reigned from 1658-1707.

Kareena Kapoor Khan is expected to play the role of Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh’s sister, Jahanara Begum. Anil Kapoor will essay Shah Jahan and Janhvi Kapoor will portray a slave girl. Alia Bhatt and Bhumi Pednekar will play Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb’s wives, respectively.

Karan Johar’s last directorial outing was the Netflix anthology film, Lust Stories. Speaking about Takht, the filmmaker had earlier said, “It’s an incredible story embedded in history, an epic battle for the majestic Mughal throne. It’s a story of family, ambition, greed, betrayal, love, and succession. Takht is about war for love.”

The screenplay of Takht is written by Sumit Roy, who has also penned the dialogues with Hussain Haidry. The film is expected to be released in 2020.