Arjun Rampal, who has been getting immense praise for his role as Major Iqbal, the chief villain in “Dhurandhar: The Revenge,” has signed on for a new big project. According to Variety India, Rampal will join the cast of Rishab Shetty’s upcoming film, “The Pride of Bharat: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.” Shetty is best known for his hit film “Kantara.”
Rampal will reportedly play one of the principal villains, joining another notable confirmed cast member, Shefali Shah, who will essay Shivaji’s mother, Rajmata Jilabai. Sandeep Singh, known for producing "Jhund", "Aligarh" and "Sarbjit", is handling directorial duties.
The project is being planned on a large-scale, aiming to tell a visually spectacular chronicle of the daring exploits of the legendary Maratha warrior, and his confrontation with the Mughal Empire.
Rampal's other upcoming projects include Imtiaz Ali’s Netflix love story “O Saathi Re” with Aditi Rao Hydari and Avinash Tiwary. He is also part of “Punjab 95,” “Blind Game,” and “Battle of Bhima Koregaon.” However, there has been no updates on their release plans yet.
Interestingly, the same subject is being made by Riteish Deshmukh on a large-scale film titled “Raja Shivaji,” the trailer of which was played alongside "Dhurandhar: The Revenge". Co-starring Genelia Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Amol Gupte, Fardeen Khan, Bhagyashree, and Sachin Khedekar, it is set for release on May 1, 2026. Salman Khan will make a guest appearance.
"Dhurandhar 2" has grossed between Rs 330 crore and Rs 370 crore in worldwide sales, according to data gathered from multiple sources. The Ranveer Singh-starrer is expected to cross the lifetime gross of Shah Rukh Khan's "Dunki", Salman Khan's "Tiger 3", Hrithik Roshan's "War" and "War 2" by the opening weekend.