Two upcoming instalments of Rohit Shetty's superhit franchises, Golmaal and Singham, have been making news since his last film, Dilwale, released in Christmas 2015. Almost a year later, the filmmaker is ready to kick-off his next, tentatively titled, Golmaal Again. The crime caper has Ajay Devgn, Tusshar Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Shreyas Talpade and Kunal Kemmu reprising their quirky roles from the previous film. While Kareena Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were some of the names being bandied around for the leading lady, Mirror has learnt that Rohit met Parineeti last month for a narration and the actress loved the script and the lively character.

The 28-year-old-actress has been prepping for Homi Adajania's Takadum alongside Sushant Singh Rajput but we hear that this film which was to take off in a week's time has now been pushed to next year. Meanwhile, Bosco Martis's Circus in which she was to play a trapeze artiste, has been put on hold after Pari reportedly opted out of the film. “Parineeti has been reading scripts for the last year. She's being extremely selective but has given her nod to Rohit,“ says a source close to the development, adding that she plays a jovial girl who is Ajay's partner-in crime in a roller-coaster ride.

Written by Neeraj Vora, and loosely based on the Gujarati play Aflatoon by Mihir Bhuta, which itself had been adapted from the Marathi play Ghar-Ghar by Harsh Shivsharan, the 2006 release, Golmaal, had featured Devgn, Arshad, Sharman Joshi, Tusshar and Rimi Sen in lead roles. It was a “surprise super-hit“ with a sequel returning in 2008, Golmaal Returns, which turned out to be even more successful than the original, with Kareena Kapoor replacing Rimi, and Shreyas stepping in for Sharman. In 2010, Golmaal 3 became a record breaker as the highest-grossing instalment of any Bollywood franchise. Now, for Golmaal Again, recce is underway.

In an earlier interview (Mirror, October 24) Ajay had confirmed, “I will be shooting for Baadshaho now and will move to Golmaal 4 in January end or early February.“ The filmmakers will also be targeting a 2017-Diwali release.