Rohit Shetty Confirms Standalone Film On Deepika Padukone’s Cop Character

The journey of Rohit Shetty’s cop universe began with ‘Singham’ in 2011. Since then, ‘Singham Returns’, ‘Simmba’, and ‘Sooryavanshi’ have expanded this world, creating one of Bollywood’s most successful franchises. The latest addition, ‘Singham Again’, released this Diwali and has quickly soared past the Rs 200 crore mark. Singham Again introduces Deepika Padukone in the role of Shakti Shetty, or ‘Lady Singham,’ marking the first female cop character in Shetty’s universe. In a recent interview, Rohit Shetty confirmed a standalone film of Deepika’s character Shakti.

Rohit Shetty on introducing female cop

Speaking to News18 Showsha, Shetty shared his thoughts on the long wait to introduce a female lead in the cop series. “The wait was to get the right script and the right kind of launch for the character. Till 2018, I wasn’t even sure if there’s going to be a cop universe,” he explained.

The director revealed that the concept of a female-led cop film actually emerged during the production of ‘Sooryavanshi,’ led by Akshay Kumar. Simmba’s success showed that audiences embraced a larger cop universe, which led to Sooryavanshi. “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,” said Shetty.

He also addressed the delay caused by the pandemic, which postponed Sooryavanshi’s release and subsequently delayed other projects. “We lost two years due to Covid. Sooryavanshi was supposed to release in March 2019. The trailer had received a fantastic response, and we were optimistic. But the delay meant that Singham Again and everything else got pushed back too,” Shetty recalled.

Rohit Shetty confirms film on Deepika Padukone’s character

Interestingly, Shetty had already introduced a female cop character earlier this year. Shilpa Shetty Kundra played Tara Shetty in the series ‘Indian Police Force’, marking the first female cop in his storytelling world. However, Shetty clarified that the two characters exist in separate worlds. “These are two different worlds. Indian Police Force is a separate IP that belongs to Amazon, while the cop universe in films belongs to us, so these two won’t cross over,” he clarified.

As for a future film focusing solely on Shakti Shetty, Shetty hinted that it’s still in the planning stages. “We still have to write it. We have a concept, but there’s more to work out. I know the character and her basic story arc, but I don’t have the complete picture yet as a director or writer. But a female-led cop film with Lady Singham is definitely on the cards, otherwise, we wouldn’t have introduced her. We’ve put focus on her character and name in Singham Again for a reason,” he said.