Priyadarshan to team up with Pankaj Tripathi, Annu Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla for a new chaos comedy, shoot to begin in July

As ‘Bhooth Bangla’ continues its theatrical run, Priyadarshan is already moving ahead with his next venture. The director is gearing up for an out-and-out comedy, tentatively untitled, centered on three elderly men dealing with unexpected and chaotic situations, reminiscent of films like ‘Hungama’ and ‘The Shaukeens’.According to Variety India, Pankaj Tripathi, Annu Kapoor, and Saurabh Shukla have been cast in the lead roles. Rajpal Yadav, a frequent collaborator of Priyadarshan, is also set to play an important part, while the makers are still finalising the female lead. With the script now complete, the film is slated to begin shooting in July 2026 and will be wrapped up in a single two-month schedule. The upcoming film brings Priyadarshan back together with several familiar faces. He reunites with Pankaj Tripathi after 16 years since ‘Aakrosh’, where Tripathi played a hitman, while Saurabh Shukla had earlier worked with the director in the 2001 comedy-drama ‘Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar’. Annu Kapoor, who collaborated with Priyadarshan on ‘Muskurahat’ (1992) and ‘Gardish’ (1993), returns to work with him after a gap of over three decades. The project with Tripathi and others is expected to be a quick one before Priyadarshan starts work on his 100th film in November 2026 with Mohanlal. The film is a musical drama about a father and son, both famous Carnatic singers, who face conflicts due to their egos and different thoughts on music. He is also set to release his action thriller ‘Haiwaan’, starring Akshay Kumar, in the second half of the year.Meanwhile, ‘Bhooth Bangla’, which reunites Akshay and Priyadarshan after 16 years, is seeing a strong run at the box office. The film remained steady on Monday, taking its total to Rs 64.75 crore net in four days, including paid previews. The horror-comedy is now aiming to cross Rs 100 crore in its lifetime run and may become a much-needed box-office success for Akshay after a series of setbacks.