It has been almost a decade that the idea of Paani — a dystopian tale set in the future where water scarcity leads to wars — has been haunting Shekhar Kapur. While he appeared to make some headway in 2015 by roping in Sushant Singh Rajput as the lead, the film was subsequently shelved. Cut to the present, Kapur is ready to revive his passion project.

"Recently, upon seeing [the water crisis] in Chennai, those who were to invest in Paani came back to me and said, 'Let's make the film now'. What is happening in Chennai today is tragic. So, it's not just the right time, but also imperative that the movie be made," says the director, who intends to begin the casting process after wrapping up the web series adaptation of Amitav Ghosh's Ibis Trilogy.