Ali Abbas Zafar's superhero universe will begin with Katrina Kaif solo film; filmmaker says his project is not a Mr India reboot

In February, Ali Abbas Zafar was roped in by Zee Studios to create a superhero trilogy _Mr India_. Following the announcement, Shekhar Kapur , the director of the 1987 classic starring Anil Kapoor and Sridevi, had said he was never consulted. Zafar tells  Mumbai Mirror that his new film is not a remake or sequel of the original. “It’s a completely new film, we are just calling it Mr India.” The filmmaker says that he does not wish to offend the makers of the 1987 film or tamper with the story. According to him, his new project will see a “common man” fight a “mighty villain” which will be portrayed in a “cool, hip way, using science and technology and being relevant to today’s social scenario.” [caption id=“attachment_8507741” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Ali Abbas Zafar[/caption]

He reveals his plans to create a superhero universe with a Katrina Kaif-starrer followed by Mr India. Zafar adds that Kaif’s film and Mr India will have interlinked storylines. The third feature in the superhero universe will be based in Indian mythology while the fourth one will revolve around the army. No lead actor has been finalised yet for Mr India and the filmmaker says casting will only commence once the script is ready.

Zafar will soon debut as a producer with Khaali Peeli directed by Maqbool Khan. Ishaan Khatter and Ananya Panday play the lead roles in a story set in Mumbai that the makers have described as a “young, edgy roller-coaster ride that kick-starts one night, when a boy meets a girl.”

Khaali Peeli was slated to release in June but all plans were stalled due to the coronavirus outbreak. Zafar says they want to finish the film before exploring release options. Zafar’s last film was Salman Khan and Kaif’s Bharat. Though the drama did not receive favourable reviews, it was a commercial success.