Even before Ranveer Singh’s ‘Pralay’ goes on floors, it has become one of the most talked about projects in Bollywood, with director Jai Mehta aiming to bring a stylised zombie thriller. The latest buzz is that the makers have initiated discussions with the prosthetic team of ‘28 Days Later’ (2002) to design the film’s creature effects.

According to industry sources, the production has approached prosthetic make-up artistes Lisa Crawley, Adrian Getley, Barrie Gower, and Kate Hill, who were part of the primary prosthetic team on Danny Boyle’s cult horror movie.

A source said, “‘Pralay’ is envisioned as a large-scale survival horror film with extensive practical effects. The makers want those infected by the zombies on screen to look terrifying and convincing. They have been considering some of the best prosthetic talents globally, and the ‘28 Days Later’ team naturally came up in discussions.”

The team is expected to be locked before Mehta calls action on the zombie thriller in September. The source added, “Jai has planned an extensive first schedule in Australia, where the team will film a substantial portion of the movie’s post-apocalyptic world. Although the story unfolds in a zombie-ravaged Mumbai, Australia has been chosen for its diverse landscapes.”

What will be the fate of Ranveer Singh’s movies in the pipeline? That was the big question in the Hindi film industry after the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), on May 25, announced a non-cooperation directive against the actor in relation to producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s complaint that he had abruptly exited Don 3 and allegedly caused significant financial losses to the project. The directive is likely to affect Singh’s slate, which has the ambitious zombie thriller Pralay and Aditya Dhar’s next on Chandragupta Maurya.

Pralay, directed by Jai Mehta, is slated to roll in August. Trade insiders say that the film — produced by Singh’s Maa Kasam Films, Hansal Mehta’s True Story Films, and Birla Studios — will involve nearly 500 technicians and workers across departments including action, lighting, costumes, make-up, art direction, and spot staff. Considering 34 vendor associations fall under the FWICE, the non-cooperation directive threatens to disrupt the film’s schedules. mid-day contacted Hansal and Jai for a comment on the film’s probable delay, but they didn’t respond till press time.

A source from the production, however, told mid-day that the directive would do more harm than good. “In the Hindi film industry, where over 70 per cent of the daily wage earners are already out of work because not many films are being made, shouldn’t the FWICE allow them to work instead of taking opportunities away with this directive? As for Pralay, in the worst-case scenario, Ranveer can take the cast and crew, and shoot the movie anywhere in India. While the FWICE’s stand applies to all of its members, it cannot legally stop non-members from working. If Pralay is shot outside Mumbai, the makers may bypass the FWICE-affiliated workers by hiring local crew members belonging to other unions,” said the source.

Ashoke Pandit, chief advisor, FWICE, is confident that the directive issued is the right approach in light of the situation. That said, the cine body is open to a resolution between Singh and Don 3 makers. When mid-day reached out to him, Pandit said, “The FWICE directive is effective because our federation has 34 vendor associations under it. If they don’t have vendors, workers, and technicians, who will they shoot with? People underestimate the strength of the federation. The situation can only be resolved if everybody sits together and sorts it out amicably.”

Sources indicate that producers of Singh’s upcoming projects may approach the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against the FWICE’s directive. In a 2017 case filed by filmmaker Vipul A Shah, the CCI held that practices such as issuing non-cooperation directives, preventing producers from hiring non-members, stalling shoots, and restricting the supply of services amounted to anti-competitive conduct under the Competition Act. A producer associated with one of Singh’s upcoming films said, on condition of anonymity, “If this situation escalates further, producers may collectively approach the commission for intervention.”

Chandragupta Maurya project, to be directed by Aditya Dhar and backed by Jio Studios. He is said to be in talks with YRF head honcho Aditya Chopra for a film

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In a fresh twist surrounding the Don 3 row between actor Ranveer Singh and actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, a truce seems to have been called.

After walking out of the film and Farhan claiming losses over recce and pre-production work, Ranveer has decided to return his signing amount of Rs. 10 crore to the production house Excel Entertainment, as per a Free Press Journal report.

To compensate for the pre-production amount spent by the producers, Ranveer has reportedly also offered a stake in his next film, tentatively titled Pralay. Details of the arrangement, including the size of the stake, remain undisclosed for now.

We reached out to both parties for a comment or clarification on the matter, but received no response till the time of going to press. htc

It all started in December last year, when Ranveer walked out of Don 3 after the release of Dhurandhar, and Farhan demanded Rs. 40 crore as compensation for the pre-production costs. He also claimed Ranveer had approved the script at every stage.

Meanwhile, Ranveer was upset about Don 3 being put on the backburner over his career slump. The issue was escalated with members of the Producers’ Guild stepping in to mediate, including Karan Johar, Hrithik Roshan, Rajkumar Hirani, Zoya Akhtar, Sajid Nadiadwala, Ramesh Taurani, Kumar Mangat, and Amritpal Singh Bindra.

Recently reports emerged that actor Kalyani Priyadarshan, who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, might be making her Bollywood debut with Ranveer Singh-starrer Pralay. The actor gave one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films last year with Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra, which also was the first Indian female superhero film.

While there is no confirmation on the recent reports, Kalyani does share that good scripts have “always found me” irrespective of language. “I don’t know how to explain this, but good stories have always found me, whatever the language is. I’ve always said that I’m a very greedy actor when it comes to scripts. If there’s a good script, whichever language it is in, whether it’s Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu or Malayalam, I want it. Obviously, I’m one person and I can’t shoot 10 movies at the same time and there are 100 great scripts out there. But this is where I’m at,” she says.

The actor adds, “If you ask me about Hindi, I would love to do Hindi films as well, but it’s all for me about telling good stories. I’ve never looked at language as a barrier, especially when it comes to films and storytelling. I’ve always believed that the one thing that’s very universal is emotion. That’s why now there is such a thing as pan-Indian films. You can see people from all languages watching different language films because your emotions still translate even if the words don’t.”

But have the offers in Hindi shot up after Lokah’s success? “I can’t say if it’s increased or decreased, but they’ve always been there. The only thing is I like giving my time to a film wholeheartedly. That’s what happened with Lokah too as I did nothing else when I was working on it. Because of that, I can’t say yes to every good script that comes my way,” she responds.

Ask her about an update on the Lokah superhero universe and she shares, “We always knew how the film series ends and the general structure to how to get there. Dominic (Arun, director) has started writing the script and every week we call him asking what’s happening.”

In November, filmmaker Farhan Akhtar revealed that Don 3, which was announced in August 2023, would finally roll in 2026. But things seem to have changed dramatically in the past fortnight. Sources from Excel Entertainment have revealed to mid-day that Ranveer Singh has exited the action thriller, which would’ve marked his foray into the celebrated franchise. What caused the volte-face? A bunch of factors, we’re told, ranging from date issues to the actor’s commitment to Dhurandhar 2.

A source informed mid-day that the primary hurdle was Dhurandhar 2. “Given Dhurandhar’s wild success, filmmaker Aditya Dhar and everyone involved want to make the second part grander. For this, Ranveer will be required to shoot some additional portions in early 2026. After that is wrapped, the actor wants to turn his attention to Pralay, his zombie thriller with director Jai Mehta, as that remains a largely untapped genre in Hindi cinema. Talks about Don 3’s dates were going on for months. At some point, both the actor and the filmmaker needed clarity. The actor also indicated a hike in his remuneration after Dhurandhar’s success, which did not align with Don 3’s budget. The parting of ways was amicable, albeit inevitable,” said the source.

Talks of an exit apparently began early last week when Singh first met Akhtar. According to an internal communication shared with the team working on the film, which is in mid-day’s possession, this was followed by a formal meeting on December 19 that was attended by the actor, his management team, Akhtar, and producer Ritesh Sidhwani.

“Following the meeting, by Saturday, December 20, it was clear that the collaboration would not move forward. On December 22, Ritesh called for a meeting with all the department heads who were deep in pre-production. They were informed of Singh’s exit, and that the February shooting schedule was officially pushed.”

Now, the makers are looking for a male lead who can take the franchise, made popular over the decades by Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, ahead. Kriti Sanon and Vikrant Massey had reportedly been signed on for the upcoming instalment. 

mid-day contacted Excel Entertainment and Singh. Both didn’t respond till press time.

Thanks to Dhurandhar, Ranveer Singh is ending 2025 with a bang. His 2026 looks equally promising. mid-day has learnt that the actor’s ambitious post-apocalyptic film, tentatively titled Pralay, is set to go on floors sometime between July and August.

A source revealed, “Don 3, helmed by Farhan Akhtar, will roll first in 2026. After that, Ranveer will focus on Pralay. The final timeline will be locked in January after he gets his Don 3 schedule.”

That gives director Jai Mehta time to build the world of the post-apocalyptic zombie thriller. Pralay reportedly follows the protagonist’s fight for survival, with Mehta using the zombie framework to explore social, emotional, and moral collapse. It is said to reimagine Mumbai in The Hunger Games’ style set-up. Insiders said the makers are planning to recreate a devastated Mumbai, blending physical sets with artificial intelligence (AI) extensions.

The source elaborated, “Large sections of the city will be digitally aged, to give it an abandoned look. Parts of the film will be shot in Mumbai, before moving to other locations.”

Jai Mehta co-directed the smash hit, ‘Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story’, with filmmaker and father Hansal Mehta, following it up with the web series ‘Lootere’. ‘Pralay’ will mark his feature film debut.