Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar was expected to start his high-profile superhero film with Katrina Kaif early this year. However, the big-budget two-part action drama couldn't hit floors on schedule due to last year's COVID-19 lockdown that shut down operations across the film industry delaying the pre-production work required for the project. The second lockdown in March this year further delayed the progress and one hears the makers have now postponed the film to next year. With Super Soldier delayed to 2022, the Sultan director has now started working on a different project.
Peepingmoon.com has exclusively learned that Ali Abbas Zafar is next directing a thriller film starring Shahid Kapoor. The Tiger Zinda Hai and Bharat director has locked a thriller that takes place over one night and has signed Shahid to play the lead. It's said to be the Hindi remake of a foreign film the details of which are being kept under wraps at this moment to maintain the novelty factor. The yet-untitled film that marks Ali's first in thriller space is scheduled to be shot largely in Abu Dhabi sometime around later this year. Ali will himself produce this film under his banner Offside Entertainment.
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"Ali Abbas Zafar is one of the most impactful storytellers who's gauged the pulse of the mainstream Hindi audiences accurately. Shahid likes his work and always wanted to work with him, so when Ali approached the star with this specific script he immediately came on board. This is a film Ali has been planning to adapt for the Indian audiences for quite some time now. Shahid was also looking for a project that's set in commercial space yet is different from the typical masala potboiler and Ali's this script checked all his boxes. The paperwork has been done and both Shahid and Ali are looking forward to work together. Although the exact shooting timelines haven't been locked yet, if all goes well, this film would be Shahid's immediate next after Raj & DK's Amazon Prime series that he's currently shooting for in Mumbai," a source close to the project informed us.
Shahid has apparently okayed at least three more projects besides this Ali Abbas Zafar thriller. The actor is said to be already committed to Amar Butala's Operation Cactus and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's mythological epic Karna — both scheduled to get off the ground next year. Apart from these two confirmed films, he's also in talks with Kahani and Badla director Sujoy Ghosh for a fast-paced thriller, and Shashank Khaitan for an action entertainer.
