Duo will team up for the second installment of Kick which rolls in 2020; Sajid Nadiadwala and Rajat Arora hope to lock the script by year-end
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 21, 2019)

Mirror was the first to report (July 25) that after working together in Jeet, Judwaa, Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega, Jaan-E-Mann and Kick, Salman Khan and producer Sajid Nadiadwala will team up for the sixth time for the sequel of their 2014 action thriller Kick, which marked the latter’s directorial debut. Like the first film, Kick 2 will be helmed by Sajid. The filmmaker had locked the basic premise in July. Now, we have learnt that Sajid’s story has been green-lit by his leading man, and the filmmaker is currently developing it into a full-fledged screenplay with his Kick co-writer, Rajat Arora. They hope to lock it in the next two months, after which Rajat moves on to the dialogue draft. “The bound script will be ready by the year-end,” informs a source close to the development.

Contrary to the buzz that a new actress will be paired alongside Salman, the film will mark the return of Jacqueline Fernandez to the franchise. “Salman’s character, Devil (Devi Lal Singh), will be carried forward with Jackie as his love interest,” the source reveals, adding that Kick was merely a glimpse into the world of Devil and the sequel will explore other facets of his character. “It’s a role with surprises in plenty which is what makes it unique. It has shades of grey, mixed with largerthan-life heroism and a dash of humour.”

After the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial Inshallah with the actor hit a roadblock, there were reports that Salman would push forward Kick 2 to Eid. His tweet “Itna maat sochna mere bare mein, Dil mein aata hoon… aur Eid pe bhi” had added fuel to fire. However, our source asserts, the film will release only in 2021.

Like the original, the sequel will be set in India and abroad. The team, including cinematographer Ayananka Bose, will go on a recce by year-end to finalise the locations. An international stunt team will design the action, planning for which will begin early next year. For his character of a US-based businessman in Inshallah, Salman had been in the process of losing weight to acquire a leaner body. He will carry forward the look to his Eid 2020 release as well as Kick 2.

“Sajid wants to take the film a notch higher in every aspect. He has ambitious plans for the franchise which he has discussed with Salman. They plan to roll with the film in 2020,” the source signs off.