Ramayana is incomplete without Sita as is Rohit Shetty’s film without me: Kareena

PTI, Oct 7, 2024, 8:55 PM IST

Mumbai: Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor Khan on Monday said she is honoured to represent the character of Sita in “Singham Again” and thanked director Rohit Shetty and co-star Ajay Devgn for giving her a special role in the male-centric franchise.

She will reprise the role of artiste Avni Kamat, wife of cop Bajirao Singham (Devgn) in the upcoming film in Shetty’s ambitious copverse. She first played the role in “Singham Returns” (2014).

Kareena has also worked 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 honoured and overwhelmed,” she told reporters at the “Singham Again” trailer launch.

Ajay, who is set to once again play the fan-favourite character Singham, said he was drawn to the script which married Ramayana with the film’s characters.

“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” also features Ranveer Singh and Akshay Kumar, who return as return as Inspector Sangram ‘Simmba’ Bhalerao and DCP Veer Sooryavanshi, respectively New additions to the multi-starrer are Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff, and Ravi Kishan.

Arjun described the film as the “modern-day interpretation of Ramayana”. He plays a Ravan-like antagonist in “Singham Again”.

“I just felt honoured 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, also comprising Ajay’s two “Singham” movies, Ranveer’s “Simmba” and the Akshay-starrer “Sooryavanshi”.

The director, also known for “Zameen”, “Chennai Express” and “Bol Bachchan”, said he didn’t know Singham would go on to become a cult character back when he started working on the first film which released in 2011.

“Then came ‘Singham Returns’, then ‘Simmba’ and we experimented by bringing Singham into it. Now everyone has their own 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.

Ranveer said he is grateful to be part of the cop universe and share screen space with Ajay and Akshay, his “idols”.

“Singham Again” also reunites the actor with his “Gunday” co-star and close friend Arjun.

“Ten years later, I am reunited 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 honoured 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, who skipped the event due to his shooting schedule for “Housefull 5”, in a video message appealed to the audience to shower love on “Singham Again” as they did with his 2021 film “Sooryavanshi” which released amid pandemic.

New mother Deepika, who will play the cop Shakti Shetty aka Lady Singham in the film, was also absent. She and Ranveer welcomed their first child, a baby girl, on September 8.

The film also stars Jackie Shroff, Ravi Kishan, Dayanand Shetty, and Shweta Tiwari in key roles.

Produced by Jio Studios, “Singham Again” is slated to be released on November 1 on the festive occasion of Diwali.