Rohit Shetty, the man behind Ajay Devgn‘s Singham-verse, opened up about his inspiration for the film. Featuring larger-than-life car stunts and unforgettable plots, Shetty is the master of it all. As fans hope for a Singham 4 comeback, the Ajay Devgn-Rohit Shetty duo is long overdue for a comeback, and Bollywood’s righteous cop Singham, battles the unjust villains creeping into society.

Speaking at an event hosted by Pinkvilla, the Singham director shared that he made the film because of Salman Khan‘s ‘Wanted’. Released in 2009, it shone from afar, being the very few action thrillers released during the rising era of multiplexes, explained Shetty. Looking back at the decade, it was marked by romantic dramas, headlined by the biggest names in Bollywood, including Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra.

‘I made Singham because of Wanted’

Speaking at the press conference, Rohit Shetty shared, “I made Singham because of Wanted.” Receiving shocked responses from his co-panellists, Vivek Oberoi and Shilpa Shetty, the director further explained the trend of romantic films during the multiplex era. “Every second hero, every second director wanted to make those kinds of films,” he elaborated.

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He went to clarify that Wanted, indeed, was a remake of Mahesh Babu‘s Pokhiri. He also shared his experience of watching Wanted in theatres. “PVR had just opened up, new and I went to see that film…and that time nobody was making mass action films and Wanted was one underdog which came.” It was the era of soft-themed films, but Shetty took a calculated chance. “I went in the theatre, and I could see kids like these at PVR, and they were whistling and clapping, and I was like, the time has come back to make a mass entertainer.” It was the whistles and applause ‘Wanted’ received, in theatres, that made him identify the gap the audience was missing. “Then, we made Singham in 2011,” Shetty concluded.

Singham’s success story

Bollywood was missing a righteous cop with a desi twist and those who stood up for the common man. And Shetty reminded the mass audience of that gap with Singham. Grossing nearly Rs 150 crore worldwide, it became a sudden hit and defined the cop-verse of Bollywood for generations to come. Singham Returns, the sequel, had a lifetime gross of over Rs 140 crore in India, while the latest 2024 Singham Again made over Rs 300 crore globally. Interestingly, Dabangg brought Salman Khan as a semi-corrupt police officer, Chulbul Pandey to the big screen in 2010. However, Singham could not match up to its Rs 221 crore collection.

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Action films post 2023

Most of the notable action films in Bollywood are now defined by the post-Vanga era. Bringing its no-filter sequences and somewhat excessive display, Sandeep Reddy Vanga set a benchmark with Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal. The crass display of bloodshed and violence was a comment on mainstream society, which showered the film with praise. It also left the industry divided on debates of misogyny and feminism.

On the other hand, Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar, starring Ranveer Singh, does not shy away from displaying intensely violent scenes. In an attempt to build an unforgettable spy-verse, the trailer met with mixed reactions. While creators like Dhurv Rathee called it an ‘ISIS-level’ violence, action-thriller lovers could not wait to see Ranveer Singh’s comeback on the big screens.