Kangana Ranaut and R Madhavan will not return for Tanu Weds Manu sequel; Mitakshara Kumar to helm the film

Mitakshara Kumar

Even as reports linked Mitakshara Kumar to The Royals 2, the director has been quietly working on something else. She is developing the next instalment of the Tanu Weds Manu franchise with Eros, something that she hinted at on Instagram last December. It's being planned as a fresh chapter rather than a continuation of the original that featured Kangana Ranaut and R Madhavan.

A source close to the development said, "The idea is to retain the irreverence and madness of Tanu Weds Manu, while introducing a new set of characters. The new film will give the makers the opportunity to build a different story in the established world. The team has been writing for the past one year."

(L-R) R Madhavan and Kangana Ranaut in ‘Tanu Weds Manu'. Pics/Youtube, Instagram

Director Aanand L Rai's Tanu Weds Manu (2011) followed the romance between Madhavan's Manu Sharma and Ranaut's free-spirited Tanuja Trivedi. Its sequel, Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), took their turbulent marriage forward. Both films were box-office successes.

So far, Kumar has primarily worked on period dramas. The new project will give her a chance to explore a modern romantic comedy. The director told mid-day, "We are going with a fresh, young cast but the same madness of the Tanu Weds Manu world."

‘The Empire'; (right) ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar'

Mitakshara Kumar directed ‘The Empire' and certain episodes of ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar'