Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan has begun shooting for his upcoming film Ustaad Bhagat Singh, directed by Harish Shankar. A poster released on the occasion shows Pawan Kalyan seated in a chair with his back to the camera, in a police officer’s uniform, with a pistol in one hand and glass tumbler with tea in the other. The symbol of Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party also happens to be a glass tumbler. The actor appears to be sitting in a police station, with a poster of revolutionary leader Bhagat Singh on the right. On the left are stacks of papers and the poster of a “new app for the police”, named ‘Cop Connect’.
‘This time it’s not just entertainment,” the poster reads. Devi Sri Prasad is the music composer for the film, Ayananka Bose is the cinematographer, and Anand Sai is the art director. A previous poster of the film featured the tagline ‘Manalni Evadra Aapedhi,’ a popular line from one of Pawan Kalyan’s political speeches while criticising the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh during a row over the government’s decision to sell movie tickets online.
Hours before the commencement of shooting was announced, a few photographs purportedly from the sets of Ustaad Bhagat Singh were shared by fans on social media.
The POWER HOUSE has arrived to set ablaze USTAAD sets
— Mythri Movie Makers (@MythriOfficial) April 5, 2023
ఉస్తాద్ ఊచకోత షురూ #UstaadBhagatSingh shoot begins @PawanKalyan @harish2you @ThisIsDSP @DoP_Bose #AnandSai @UBSTheFilm pic.twitter.com/46Arw8lssq
Mahankali goddess set work? #UstaadBhagatSingh pic.twitter.com/mPNW19bq2Y
— Pawanfied (@Only_PSPK) April 5, 2023
#UstaadBhagatSingh Day-1
— Dinesh Kumar #OG (@DKForU1) April 5, 2023
Police Station Scenes@PawanKalyan #HariHaraVeeraMallu #PKSDT #OG pic.twitter.com/4LYypUFw9U
Pawan Kalyan played a police officer in the hit 2012 film Gabbar Singh, adapted from Salman Khan’s Dabangg, which was also directed by Harish Shankar. A sequel titled Sardaar Gabbar Singh was also released in 2016. He also played a police officer in the 2022 film Bheemla Nayak, a remake of the acclaimed Malayalam film Ayyappanum Koshiyum.
Apart from Ustaad Bhagat Singh, Pawan Kalyan has a slew of releases lined up, including Hari Hara Veera Mallu directed by Krish Jagarlamudi, a Sujeeth directorial tentatively titled OG, as well as a Samuthirakani directorial.