Varun Dhawan on the first poster of Mr Lele (courtesy varundvn)

New Delhi:

Months after Varun Dhawan announced that his film Mr Lele has indefinitely been “postponed” because of clashing dates, director Shashank Khaitan dismissed rumours that Dharma Production is on the look-out for actors for the film. “I have received many messages and emails from actors that someone, going by the name of Nitesh Sharma Casting, is claiming to be a casting director for Dharma Productions and the film Mr Lele. He is asking for money for auditions and other favours,” Mr Khaitan wrote in his post, adding: “Please note this is false. No one by this name works for Dharma.” The filmmaker also reiterated that: “We are not casting for Mr Lele as the film is not happening at present.” Mr Lele would have marked Varun’s third collaboration with the filmmaker after working with him in 2014’s Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and 2017’s Badrinath Ki Dulhania, both produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.

In the caption to his post, Shashank Khaitan added: “Please be aware of all such people claiming to be from Dharma Productions. Mr Lele is not happening right now. We are not casting for it. Please do not get scammed by such frauds. Please take care. Be safe.”

Earlier in March – just a little over a month after Mr Lele was announced – Mr Khaitan confirmed that the film has been “postponed” amid reports that the project has been shelved. His statement suggested that Mr Lele has been paused for now as it’s a film with an ensemble cast and the actors dates couldn’t be coordinated. “Karan, Varun and I have mutually decided to postpone the shooting of the film. It’s a script we all love and I’m sure will revisit soon. But scheduling the film was turning out to be very tough, as the film has a solid ensemble cast and the dates were just not falling into place,” Mr Khaitan had tweeted.

. Soon…. https://t.co/AxbdDdxtwx

— Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) March 5, 2020

The first look poster of Varun Dhawan as Mr Lele was dropped in January and had sent the Internet into a meltdown. However, no other details about the film’s plot or the cast was revealed.