Baby Singham on board

There has been much interest around the latest additions in filmmaker Rohit Shetty's cop universe. In Singham Again, Ajay Devgn's protagonist Bajirao Singham will be joined by Deepika Padukone and Tiger Shroff, who essay the roles of Shakti Shetty and ACP Satya respectively. But mid-day has now learnt that the upcoming action fare will introduce another key character - Junior Singham, the child of Bajirao and Avni, portrayed by Kareena Kapoor Khan. While the third instalment in the franchise will see Devgn's upright cop character take on new adversaries, the narrative will also explore a dynamic interplay between the seasoned cop and his son.

So, who plays the coveted role of Junior Singham? The makers are keeping that under wraps. A source reveals, "In the initial stages, Rohit considered casting Yug Devgn for the role. But after that didn't work out, they shortlisted three child actors between the ages of eight to 10 years, of which one was selected. The makers completed shooting most of his portions during the film's Hyderabad schedule. The child actor will be a big reveal, and Shetty is going to great lengths to ensure that it's all hush-hush until then."

By introducing the next generation of Singham, one can assume that Shetty has increased not only the reach of the franchise, but also its longevity. The source says the filmmaker is toying with different approaches to take Junior Singham ahead. "After the first part became a hit, there was Little Singham, an animation series based on the backstory of Bajirao's life. Junior Singham could take a similar route, but right now, the makers are keen to have the character lead a young adult detective series for the franchise's younger fans."

For now though, Shetty has claimed intellectual property (IP) rights of all the characters in his cop universe. The source adds, "On October 14, Rohit claimed IP rights of all characters that have appeared in the Singham franchise, including Junior Singham. In the notice, it was mentioned that the makers are seeing him as a role with future potential. Additionally, Shetty claimed IP rights of the characters, Sangram Bhalerao and Veer Sooryavanshi from Simmba [2018] and Sooryavanshi [2021] respectively."