Rohit Shetty confirms solo film on Deepika Padukone's Lady Singham
Acclaimed filmmaker Rohit Shetty has confirmed plans for a standalone film featuring Deepika Padukone's character, Lady Singham or Shakti Shetty. The announcement comes after the successful release of Singham Again, the latest installment in Shetty's popular cop universe franchise that recently crossed the ₹200cr mark. In an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha, he revealed the introduction of a female cop was delayed due to the search for an appropriate script and launch strategy.
'The wait was to get the right script...'
Shetty said, "The wait was to get the right script and the right kind of launch. Till 2018, I wasn't even sure if there's going to be a cop universe." The idea for Lady Singham came during Akshay Kumar's Sooryavanshi. "When Simmba worked, people accepted that we can bring in other characters and create a universe. That's when we made Sooryavanshi and it was during this film that we thought of making a film with an out-and-out lady cop."
COVID-19 delays and Shetty's cop universe expansion
Shetty hinted that a film based on Shakti could have hit theaters earlier had Sooryavanshi not been delayed due to the pandemic. He remembered, "What happened was that we lost two years in COVID-19. Sooryavanshi was supposed to release in March 2019... But then suddenly, the film was in cans for two years and everything got delayed because of that."
Shetty clarified on Shilpa Shetty Kundra's role
Earlier this year, Shetty introduced another female cop character, Tara Shetty, portrayed by actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra in the Amazon series Indian Police Force. However, he clarified that there are no plans for a film featuring both Padukone and Shetty Kundra. "These are two different worlds. Indian Police Force is a different IP, altogether. It belongs to Amazon. This cop universe, on the other hand, belongs to us."
Shetty shared insights on upcoming Lady Singham film
About the standalone Shakti Shetty film, Shetty said, "We still have to write it. We do have a concept in mind but we don't know where we can go with it. There's still time for that." He promised fans a female-led cop film headlined by Lady Singham is definitely happening, adding, "I know what the character will be like and her basic story arc but I don't know her whole journey yet as a director or writer."
