Excited to have Saif Ali Khan back in 'Race' franchise, says producer Ramesh Taurani

Mumbai: Veteran film producer Ramesh Taurani says actor Saif Ali Khan will be returning for the fourth installment of his popular action franchise Race. Taurani, the founder of production house Tips Films, said Race 4 will see Saif leading an ensemble cast and that it will go on floors in 2025.

"Saif will be back in the 'Race' franchise, and we are excited to have him on board. He did a great job in the first two films. The film will boast an ensemble cast, and we are finalizing the script and cast.

"We haven't finalised the director either. We will announce the film officially before we go on floors, most likely next year,” Taurani told PTI.

Known for its high-octane action, glamorous settings, and intricate plots, the franchise began with the 2008 movie Race, featuring Saif and Akshaye Khanna as two brothers, Ranvir and Rajiv, embroiled in a complex web of betrayal and deceit.

Saif returned for the movie's 2013 sequel, Race 2, which starred John Abraham as the villain. Both films were commercially successful and received positive reviews from critics.

However, the franchise's third part featured an entirely new cast led by superstar Salman Khan.

Taurani said it would be incorrect to say that Race 3 didn’t perform well at the box office.

“The third part did better business than the previous two installments. We had expected the film to earn between Rs 200 to 250 crore, but it grossed over Rs 180 crore, which is not insignificant. For all of us, it was a profitable film,” he said.

“The only difference is that the first two parts received good reviews from critics, while the third one didn't garner a good response. However, we are leaving no stone unturned for the fourth part,” Taurani added.

The producer also revealed plans to develop a sequel to the 1998 action thriller Soldier, starring Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta.

"We want to make Soldier 2; it is a good franchise film. We are working on developing the script,” he said.

Up next for Tips Films is a movie with filmmaker David Dhawan and his actor son Varun Dhawan, as well as Maalik, headlined by Rajkummar Rao.

Billed as a family entertainer, the untitled movie marks the third collaboration between the father-son duo after “Main Tera Hero” and the reboot of “Coolie No. 1”. Meanwhile, Maalik is an action thriller directed by filmmaker Pulkit, known for Bhakshak.

“Both films are currently in production. We share a good relationship with David ji; we have worked together on 'Kunwara' and 'Coolie No. 1.' When he (David) narrated the story to us, we immediately said yes as we loved the idea. Rajkummar is a great actor, and he will do justice to his first action film,” Taurani said.