Rani Mukerji‘s popular supercop Shivan Shivaji Roy will return to the big screen soon. On Friday, the actor announced the third instalment of the Mardaani franchise – Mardaani 3. The film, produced by Yash Raj Films, will go on the floors in 2025 and will be released in theatres in 2026. No official release date has been announced. (Also read: Rani Mukerji is ‘manifesting’ films for her and Shah Rukh Khan with Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman)
Mardaani 3 announcement
On Friday – the release anniversary of Mardaani 2 – YRF took to social media to share the announcement poster of Mardaani 3. “The wait is over! #RaniMukerji is back as the fierce Shivani Shivaji Roy in #Mardaani3. In cinemas 2026,” the caption read. The poster announced that the film would be produced by Aditya Chopra under the YRF banner and directed by Abhiraj Minawala.
Rani Mukerji on Mardaani 3
Reacting to the announcement, Rani said, “I’m thrilled to announce that we are starting shooting of Mardaani 3 in April 2025. It is always special to wear the police uniform and play a character that has only given me love. I’m proud to essay the character of this feisty cop again in Mardaani 3 as a tribute to all the unsung, brave, self-sacrificing cops who work tirelessly every single day to keep us safe.”
The actor said that Mardaani 3 will take the adrenaline rush several notches higher than the previous films. “When we set out to make Mardaani 3, we were hoping that we find a script that would take the experience of watching a Mardaani franchise film higher,” she said, adding, “Mardaani is an extremely loved franchise, and we have a certain responsibility to deliver to the expectation that people have. We will do our best to live up to this. Mardaani 3 is dark, deadly and brutal. So, I’m intrigued to find out the response of the people towards our film. I hope they shower this film with the same amount of love that they have always given.”
Aayush Gupta of The Railway Men fame has written the script of Mardaani 3. Mardaani 3 will be directed by Abhiraj Minawala, who has also been groomed by YRF. He has previously assisted the YRF top boss on films like Band Baaja Baarat, Sultan, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, and Tiger 3. Abhiraj is currently the associate director of War 2.
About the Mardaani franchise
The Mardaani franchise began with the eponymous film, released in 2014. Directed by Pradeep Sarkar, Mardaani was a box office success, raking in ₹60 crore at the box office. Mardaani 2, directed by Gopi Puthran, was released in 2019, and earned ₹67 crore. Both films featured Rani as a tough-as-nails cop handling cases of violence against women.