Upala KBR (MID-DAY; October 20, 2017)

Over a month after producer Shailendra Singh had said that he had acquired “a title that’s sexier than Singh Is Kinng”, for the sequel to his 2008  comedy, mid-day has learnt the name. The second instalment, which will apparently see Ranveer Singh fill in the shoes of Akshay Kumar, will be titled Sher Singh. The producer was forced to revise the name after Vipul A Shah, who helmed the original, refused to part with the title.

Shailendra tells mid-day that he acquired the rights to this name on Wednesday after difficulty. “While we had initially wanted the title Singh Is Kinng, Vipul Shah refused to part with it. I have been asking him to return it to me for the last five years. Then, I decided to pick another name, because, the name Singh Is Bliing had also been explored. So, a similar sounding title would cause confusion.”

His upcoming film, he is certain, will emerge as an important franchise in the industry. “Bollywood doesn’t have an iconic superhero. Sher Singh will be that character. He does not have super powers, but will be an extraordinary human being.”

The producer says Ranveer was his first choice, given that the actor “ can be Bollywood’s ultimate sardar”. “Ranveer has all the characteristics needed to play a sardar, just like Akshay and Ajay Devgn do. I narrated the story to him in one line about a month-and-a-half ago, and discussed his look too. He expressed interest in the project and asked me for a 10-page script, which I will send him this week.”

Shailendra’s enthusiasm is palpable when he talks about his protagonist. “I will tell you one thing — Sher Singh ordinary hai, lekin kaam extraordinary karta hai!”