Saif Ali Khan locked to play antagonist in Prabhas’ Adipurush

Filmmaker Om Raut, who shot to instant fame after the riotous success of Ajay Devgn-starrer period drama Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020), on Tuesday announced his next directorial outing, Adipurush.

To be co-produced by Bhushan Kumar of T-Series Films, Adipurush features superstar Prabhas in the lead role. The project is being touted as an on-screen adaptation of the Indian epic which revolves around the triumph of good over evil.

The latest update on the high-profile project is that National Award-winning actor Saif Ali Khan, who was most recently seen in a cameo in Dil Bechara (2020), has been roped in to play an important character in it. He will essay the character of the antagonist. Interestingly, Khan played the lead villain in Om Raut’s previous directorial as well.

Talking about the same, a source close to the project informs an online publication, “Yes, Saif will feature in Adipurush. In fact, after seeing Saif’s performance in Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, Om was rather keen on casting him again.”

When probed further about the character that the Omkara (2006) actor will portray in Adipurush, the source adds, “Obviously Saif would come on board only if his part was a good one, and apparently Raut has roped him in to play the villain. Now given that the film is an adaptation of the fight between good and evil, it is likely that Saif will be almost a parallel lead opposite Prabhas in Adipurush.”

Jointly produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Om Raut, Prasad Sutar, and Rajesh Nair, Adipurush is currently in the pre-production stage. The movie marks Prabhas’ third collaboration with producer Bhushan Kumar after Saaho (2019) and the yet-to-be-released film, Radhe Shyam.

Adipurush is expected to begin production in 2021 and arrive in theatres in 2022. There is no update on who will play the female lead opposite Prabhas in the film.