Rani Mukerji and YRF collaborated on the 2014 female cop movie Mardaani, in which the actress portrayed Shivani Shivaji Roy. After the movie became a sleeper hit, Rani and YRF collaborated on Mardaani 2, which was released five years later. Five years after the second installment, Rani is returning to the role of Shivani Shivaji Roy in the upcoming Mardaani film. The two films established the franchise as one of the rare female-led franchises in Indian cinema.
Sources close to the situation say that Rani Mukerji is scheduled to begin filming her second Mardaani movie in the first quarter of 2025. “Mardaani is a franchise dear to Rani Mukerji and Aditya Chopra. They have been working on a script with an in-house team of writers for a while now, and have finally green-lit an idea that does justice to the legacy of part one and two. The team of writers is presently giving finishing touches to the screenplay, following which the film moves into the pre-production stage,” revealed a source close to the development.
The source claims that, similar to the previous two films, the bad turn will be one of the main plot points that emphasises the strength of the protagonist’s argument. Be it Tahir Raj Bhasin in Mardaani or Vishal Jethwa in Mardaani 2, the franchise is known for menacing villains. The journey shall continue in the new chapter, as the makers will be pitting a strong personality against Rani Mukerji,” the source added.
Rani is eager to take on the action avatar once more. She loves playing Shivani Shivaji Roy, as it’s an empowering and strong character. It’s rare for a female lead to spearhead a franchise in India, and Rani is doing that with Mardaani,” the source concluded. The movie will be released in theatres, as Rani is determined to limit her career to big-screen productions. Remarkably, in the preview honouring the tenth anniversary of the first installment, YRF also alluded to the upcoming chapter of Mardaani.
Rani is anticipated to wrap up filming Shonali Bose’s family dramedy for Junglee Pictures before going on to Mardaani.
