Ranbir Kapoor teamed up with filmmaker Prakash Jha for the 2010 political thriller Raajneeti. The film turned out to be a commercial success and offered a contemporary interpretation of the Indian epic Mahabharata. Now, more than a decade later, the director has begun work on its sequel. In a recent interview, Jha confirmed that Raajneeti 2 is currently in development and will once again draw inspiration from Indian epics.
Prakash Jha opens up about Raajneeti 2
Ever since the success of Raajneeti, audiences have been eager to see a follow-up. The filmmaker has now revealed that the sequel is officially in the works and is presently in the pre-production stage. Speaking to SCREEN, Jha shared that, similar to the first film, certain aspects of the sequel—whether characters, plot points, or situations—will take cues from Indian mythological texts.
He explained that the upcoming installment will continue to borrow ideas from such legendary sources. “Even in the second part of Raajneeti, which is currently in pre-production and something I am actively developing, several elements have been inspired by those references,” he said. The National Award-winning director also mentioned that he once explored a separate project based on Draupadi from the Mahabharata. The concept, titled Panchali, had been worked on earlier but did not move forward.
Interestingly, Jha had already hinted at a sequel last year while attending an event marking 15 years of Raajneeti. At the time, he told Hindustan Times that a second installment had always been part of the plan, although the project was still at an early stage with no confirmed casting or shoot schedule.
About Raajneeti
The characters in Raajneeti were loosely inspired by figures from the Mahabharata, including Arjuna, Lord Krishna, and Draupadi. Alongside Ranbir Kapoor, the film featured a strong ensemble cast with actors like Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgn, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee, Sarah Thompson, and Naseeruddin Shah.
On the professional front, Ranbir Kapoor will soon portray Lord Rama in Ramayana, directed by Nitesh Tiwari. The film also stars Sai Pallavi and Yash. In addition, he will appear in Love & War, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, alongside Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal.