A fair share of forthcoming movies became casualties of the lockdown lull, which afforded filmmakers the time to analyse if they were worth creating in the first place. Writer-lyricist Manoj Muntashir assures us that his next with Ajay Devgn isn’t one of them.

“Chanakya has been delayed due to the pandemic. Ajay only resumed filming in November and will wrap up his prior commitments before working on this. We should roll in the last quarter of 2021,” Muntashir tells mid-day of Neeraj Panday’s directorial venture, based on the ancient Indian philosopher. That the film requires Devgn to sport a bald look implies that he cannot juggle its shoot with another offering, says the writer. “Ajay has to go bald for the film. There are several dramatic points relating to his character. When I write the script, I make notes about his hair, clothes and accessories.” He alludes that the film, which seems worthy of being an “Oscar-entry”, is too precious to be put on the back-burner.