Hiren Kotwani (DNA; June 6, 2019)

Ever since Akshay Kumar made an appearance in Simmba (2018), starring Ranveer Singh, Rohit Shetty’s next, Sooryavanshi, has been piquing audience interest. Even as the team is shooting in Bangkok, Thailand, comes the news that Gulshan Grover plays the main antagonist in this action drama. Apparently, all it took the veteran actor to sign up was hearing his part after the blockbuster filmmaker’s chief assistant director called him for it.

We hear it’s a different kind of role for Bollywood’s Bad Man. As our source says, “This antagonist is a new kind of opposition to the hero. His sense of good and bad has blurred. While you may think that he’s bad, he thinks he’s a good guy. Karan Johar, who is also producing the film with Rohit and Akshay, too, complimented Gulshan — about how he feels he is perfectly suitable for this role. For someone who’s as known for his looks as he is for his performances, GG will be sporting a different look this time around as well.”

While he declines to reveal anything about the kind of role he plays in this supercop outing, Gulshan says, “All I can say at this point is that I’m a huge fan of Rohit Shetty’s films. I’m a bigger believer that not only does he deserve all the success he has got but also deserves a lot more for the way he understands the responsibility of success and mega-movies entertainment so well. He keeps his family and young audiences in mind while making his films.” He adds that in his years of experience, it’s not often that one works with a filmmaker who has such a solid grasp of technique. “Rohit makes larger-than-life fantastic cinema for the entire family to enjoy. And he knows the technique so well, it’s amazing.”

This film also sees him team up yet again with Akshay, with whom he has done several films like Mohra (1994), Hera Pheri (2000) and a few Khiladi titles, too. He is excited to collaborate with him again. “Apart from the working relationship and the camaraderie on the sets, Akshay is like a brother. He’s such a positive force around and the support from him is so strong, it’s always great working with him.”