- By Ridhi Suri
- Tue, 16 Jul 2024 10:04 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Soldier, released in 1998, is an Indian Hindi-language action thriller directed by Abbas-Mustan. It stars Bobby Deol and marked the Bollywood debut of Preity Zinta. Unlike Abbas-Mustan's previous works, 'Soldier' was their first original film not adapted from Hollywood. Produced by Ramesh Taurani, it became a pivotal film in his career and initiated a successful partnership with Abbas-Mustan and Bobby Deol. Known for its gripping action and suspense, the film captured audience attention with the chemistry between its lead actors and memorable music, solidifying its place in Bollywood cinema of the late 1990s.
Bobby Deol had previously hinted at a sequel to 'Soldier,' expressing his desire for producer Ramesh Taurani to pursue it. The film's storyline draws inspiration from a real incident in Punjab, where a soldier accused of treason faced severe consequences, leading to his wife being shunned and branded. Recently, the producer confirmed to News18 Showsha that the Soldier franchise sequel is indeed in the works. "We're definitely making a sequel to Soldier. We plan to commence shooting for the film next year," he revealed.
Talking about the casting, Ramesh Taurani clarified, "We aren't sure about the cast yet. Depending on how the story evolves, we will decide whether Bobby and Preity will be involved."
"Soldier was also ready by April 1998. We wanted to release it in August but we couldn’t. The reason was, that we had the music rights of another film starring Bobby called Kareeb which was made by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. We wanted to release its music in June and the film in August. We didn’t want two films of Bobby releasing in the same month," he added.
He further continued, "We were concerned how both the trailers would fare if they released at the same time. Even publicity for two films starring the same actor would have been a problem. That’s why we had to release Kareeb earlier.” On a related note, in an interview a while back, Deol had teased the sequel to one his biggest hits saying, “It’s been a long time! Maybe after Animal, Ramesh ji, Tips owner, will think of making [Soldier] part two with me."