Massive Rani Mukherji announcement by YRF: Mardaani 2 to kick off daredevil cop franchise

Mardaani, a Pradeep Sarkar-directed cop drama, revolved around child trafficking and featured Rani as Shivani Shivaji Roy, senior inspector, crime branch.

The sequel is produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Raj Films is starting the "Mardaani" franchise with the project. 

Mardaani 2 will be directed by Gopi Puthran, the writer of the first film.

"Mardaani is and will always be extremely close to my heart. Right since its release, everyone has asked me time and again when I would be doing Mardaani 2 and I'm sure this announcement will come as a pleasant surprise to them all. Gopi has written an extraordinary script that we all love and I can't wait to start shooting this film soon," Rani said in a statement.

YRF issued a release announcing not just the film, but a franchise:

"Rani Mukherji had wowed us all with her brilliantly feisty performance in the super-hit Mardaani. She played the role of a daredevil Senior Inspector, Crime Branch, Shivani Shivaji Roy and took on the kingpin of a child trafficking racker. It is official now that Yash Raj Films is making the sequel to this much loved movie and starting the Mardaani franchise. Over the years, URF has excelled in discovering talented directors and Mardaani 2 will see the company launch Gopi Puthran, who incidentally was the writer of the first film. Produced by Aditya Chopra, this will be Rani's next release after the worldwide blockbuster Hichki that was hugely acclaimed by audiences and critics alike and marked her return to acting post pregnancy."

The first film proved a breakthrough for Tahir Raj Bhasin, who featured in a negative role, and giving a sneak peek into the character of the new antagonist, Rani said Shivani will face a "merciless" villain.

"Shivani will face a cold, merciless villain who has no empathy, no fear of God and is pure evil. The character has been written superbly and I'm excited to find out who the actor will be."

Mardaani 2 is set to go on floors in 2019 and will release in the later half of the year.