The Salman Khan-Anil Kapoor-Fardeen Khan comic caper, No Entry, was immensely successful in 2005. In the last few years, there has been a buzz about the film’s sequel, No Entry Mein Entry, being in the discussion. Finally, things are falling into place for the project, and if all goes well, the movie might roll in January next year.

Confirming the same, film’s writer and director Anees Bazmee says, “Finally, it is all coming together. We might just roll in January. The film will continue from where No Entry ended and we will have Salman, Anil and Fardeen taking the narrative ahead.”

Ask Anees why the project has taken so long, and he reasons, “We don’t just want to cash in on the popularity of the franchise by making something mediocre, but want this film to live up to its previous part. When we first spoke about making a sequel as a team, we bounced off several ideas, which we discussed and eventually rejected. Finally, in 2016, we came up with a one-line idea, which we all agreed upon. Developing a script around this one-line idea and then writing the dialogues took a lot of time. People say that one should leave their brains behind while watching such films, but to make such a film jahan log apna dimaag apne ghar chhod kar theatre mein aaye aur enjoy kare, we have to work our mind a lot (laughs!).”

The other aspect that’s taking up a lot of time at the scripting stage is the storyline that boasts of 10 heroines playing prominent parts. Explains Bazmee, who’s working on the script, “If you tell a writer to weave a script keeping 10 heroines in mind, he is definitely going to be dazed.”

While the original male star cast is retained, Bazmee says that he hopes that heroines from the earlier part, which included actors like Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta Bhupathi, Esha Deol Takhtani and Celina Jaitly, are also a part of the sequel too, but it all depends on future discussions with the team.

Talking about how Salman, Anil and Fardeen reacted to the script, he shares, “Salman has loved the script. Fardeen, too, is quite excited. Anil ji ko maine ab tak kahani nahi sunaiyi hai. We have done so many films together, so he counts on me. Once the final touches are done, I will narrate it to him.”

While he is working on a couple of scripts, Bazmee feels that No Entry Mein Entry willbe his next project after the success of his last Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. The director is quick to add, “Aise waqt mein iss film ne woh umeed jagayi hai ki if the audience likes your film, then nothing can stop its success. The happiest moment was when Priyan ji (Priyadarshan, director of Bhool Bhulaiyaa) called me and praised the film. He is a friend and a very big director, and I was touched by his gesture,” says Bazmee.

So, is Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 on his mind? “I would love to make it. I enjoyed the horror-comedy genre. Buss ek achchi script mil jaye toh kyun nahi?”