Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan said on Monday that she feels privileged to play the role of Sita in 'Singham Again', thanks to director Rohit Shetty and co-star Ajay Devgn for giving her a special role in the male-centred franchise.
She will reprising the role of artiste Avni Kamat, wife of cop Bajirao Singham (Devgn) in the film to be made in Shetty's ambitious copverse. That role was first essayed by her in "Singham Returns" in 2014.
Kareena has also shared screen space with the director in two of the action comedy "Golmaal" films.
"Ramayan me Sita na ho ye ho nahi sakta aur Rohit Shetty ki film mein Kareena na ho ye ho nahi sakta (Ramayana is incomplete without Sita and a Rohit Shetty film is incomplete without Kareena).
"Thank you so much to Rohit and Ajay for always supporting me and giving me such a special role in this male-centric copverse and in this film to represent Sita maa. I'm very honored and overwhelmed," she said in an interview with reporters at the trailer launch of "Singham Again".
Ajay, who was to play the fan-favourite again as Singham, said he was drawn by the script marrying Ramayana with characters of the film.
"When Rohit narrated the script and concept. how he weaved Ramayana and characters. That was novelty. There was nothing more fascinating than that. And the scale on which this picture was shot. It's been over a year (shooting it), " he said.
Besides Kareena and Ajay, "Singham Again" will see Ranveer Singh and Akshay Kumar make a comeback as Inspector Sangram 'Simmba' Bhalerao and DCP Veer Sooryavanshi, respectively. New entrants to the multi-starrer include Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff, and Ravi Kishan.
Arjun called the film "the contemporary adaptation of Ramayana." He plays a Ravan-like villain in "Singham Again".
"I just felt honored and blessed that he's chosen me to be part of this. I hounded him (Rohit) that I wanted to work with him and Ajay sir. I didn't know dreams could come true to this extent. I'm a bit overwhelmed by that. Whenever I used to see Rohit Shetty and the team. I wanted to be part of the team, he said.".
"Singham Again" is the fifth film in Shetty's cop universe, which also includes Ajay's two "Singham" movies, Ranveer's "Simmba" and the Akshay-starrer "Sooryavanshi".
The director who has also given "Zameen", "Chennai Express" and "Bol Bachchan" said he never knew Singham will turn out to be a cult character when he had begun working on the first film that released in 2011.
"Then came Singham Returns, then Simmba and we experimented by bringing Singham into it. And now everybody has his universe which is a good thing but that was the first step in 2018 in Simmba where Singham and Sooryavanshi both came.".
"Then 'Sooryavanshi' happened but the pandemic happened. The film did not release for two years. Everyone advised us to release it on digital platforms. We took the risk. The promo came in 2019 and the film was released in 2021. Then, you guys (audience) created history. We have made the film ('Singham Again') with honesty and hard work. Now, you guys will create history," he added.
He is grateful for being a part of the cop universe and sharing screen with Ajay and Akshay, he said, his idols.
"Singham Again" also brings back the actor to share screen with his "Gunday" co-star and close friend, Arjun.
"Ten years later, reuniting with the apple of my eye, my Babu (Arjun). And, first time sharing screen space with my man crush (Tiger). The wonder boy. There is nobody in the world as special as Tiger as specially skilled as him.".
"From dancing like Michael Jackson to fighting like Bruce Lee, I am a huge fan and I am honored to be sharing screen space with him. I have been a fan of ma'am (Kareena) and doing the first film with her is truly special, " he said.
Akshay had skipped the event as he was shooting for "Housefull 5". In a video message, he appealed to the audience to shower love on "Singham Again" as they did with his 2021 release "Sooryavanshi" which was hitting screens amid the pandemic.
Deepika, who will be playing cop Shakti Shetty aka Lady Singham in the film, was absent too. She and Ranveer had also welcomed their first child, a baby girl on September 8.
Jackie Shroff, Ravi Kishan, Dayanand Shetty, and Shweta Tiwari play prominent roles in the film.
Jio Studios has released "Singham Again", which will hit theaters on November 1 on the festive occasion of Diwali.
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