Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; November 16, 2017)

Fresh off the success of his comic caper, the Rs 200 crore grosser Golmaal Again, filmmaker Rohit Shetty has already kicked-off work on his next, a remake of Junior NTR’s South film, Temper (2015). But, even though his film is yet to go on floors, Shetty finds himself battling speculations, the most recent one being the casting of Janhvi Kapoor as the female lead.

"I don't know where this news came from,” he says, after previously shunning speculations that Singham (2011) actor Kajal Aggarwal had been selected for the part. “I have not finalised the leading lady. The cast will be decided only when the final draft is ready early next year,” Shetty says. Given that he had announced that Ranveer Singh would play the lead in his actioner, Shetty questions assumptions that he would keep news about his leading lady under wraps.

Singh’s casting, Shetty says, is fitting, given that the actor is suited for the energetic performance of a corrupt police official. “The script is best suited for Ranveer. It is an out-and-out action masala entertainer, a kind that he hasn’t attempted before. We will include amazing action sequences, and given the kind of energy and enthusiasm that Ranveer has, I’m sure he’ll do justice to the part.”

Although Shetty has purchased the rights for his outing, he asserts, yet again, that his film will only borrow from the original. “Around 20 per cent of the original story will be retained; the rest will be amended.”

While the film will mark the first Bollywood collaboration between Shetty and Singh, the duo has previously worked on a commercial for a brand of noodles, also creating an extended short film as part of the brand promotions.