Deepika in the film. (courtesy: DeepikaPadukone)
After Singham and Singham Returns, filmmaker Rohit Shetty is gearing up for Singham Again the third instalment of the trilogy with an ensemble cast of Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar and Ranveer Singh and addition of new faces in Kareena Kapoor Khan and Deepika Padukone along with Tiger Shroff. Jackie Shroff and Arjun Kapoor also feature in the upcoming film.
Singham was released in 2011 followed by Singham Returns in 2014 and then he also did Simmba and Sooryavanshi- all of which are part of Rohit's cop universe, that are extemely popular with audience.
Singham Again stars Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff, Jackie Shroff and Arjun Kapoor.
In an interview with ANI, Shetty said, "I did Simmba, Sooryavanshi and then the pandemic came for two years because Sooryavanshi's end is linked to Singham, we had to wait for almost three years to start shooting for the film."
Rohit Shetty who enjoys shooting in Hyderabad and Goa has finished some of the shooting for Singham Again at the Ramoji studio in Hyderabad.
"It's a huge studio and the kind of work I do...car chases, action and all that...so for that, I need that kind of place. There are not many restrictions and I love that place. You stay there in the studio and you shoot there..it's kind of boarding school... there is discipline..within two minutes you are on a set."
Talking about the role of Ajay Devgn and whether he will reprise the character of Inspector Bajirao Singham, Shetty said, "He is upgraded now, although he is playing an officer but on a bigger level. He has a different mission altogether from the government."
"Then there is Ranveer and Deepika," he said.
"They all come from a different region. It's not like in one police station. The film travels. It travels from Mumbai to South till Rameswaram and forward from that," reveals Shetty.
Deepika has a prominent role in the movie, as he added, "She is like one of the heroes and what we are doing with it is that we will go with her story. We will make a film which has only Deepika...it is her story... Like Sooryavanshi, Singham and Simmba, the films had already been made and people knew about them but with Singham Again we are introducing these characters and then we will tell their stories."
However, working with such a big name in one film is not easy but Rohit has worked with most of them and while sharing how he convinced them, he said, "I think most of them I would say that Tiger (Shroff) is the new guy who has joined the force other than that I have worked with everyone. So many films have been done with Ajay. So many films have been done with Kareena. I have done Chennai Express with Deepika. We made Sooryavanshi with Akshay...so somewhere they instil confidence in the director that they won't be misused and it is not just for the business."
Working with a huge cast he said, "Now the culture is such that everyone is trying to do that...you know after Marvel that universe, people have started...when we did Sooryavanshi, there was Akshay, then Ajay and Ranveer came into the film. ...we did Simmba...it's like Ajay has come to the end...culturally actors are realizing that it will not make a difference much and also the audiences are trained for all these films.. they don't feel cheated."
The filmmaker who has come to be known as the 'king' of action and comedy, said that while in Simba character of Ranveer uses a particular dialect, it was necessary to carry the same throughout the entire sequence of films. This he said has become essential as audience has become more aware and are already in love with the characters.
Recently, Rohit Shetty shared a special behind-the-scenes video of his upcoming action-packed film Singham Again.
Rohit took to Instagram and treated fans with a glimpse of the shooting of Singham Again.
In the video, Rohit Shetty can be seen sitting in the car and shooting an action scene. In this scene, the car flies and catches fire.
Sharing the video, he wrote, "Happy Makar Sankranti...Aap log patang udaayiye aur mein...I love my job... Action... Night shoots... Hyderabad...#SinghamAgain." As soon as the video was shared, fans chimed in the comment section. One the user wrote, "Best caption." Another user commented, "Happy makar sankranti my idol @itsrohitshetty sir."
Rohit's caption also revealed that currently 'Singham Again' is shooting in Hyderabad.
Singham Again is the third instalment of the super-hit franchise and the film is all set to hit theatres on the occasion of Independence Day 2024.
Singham was released in 2011, starring Kajal Aggarwal and Prakash Raj in lead roles, followed by Singham Returns in 2014. Both projects were declared box office hits.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)