Mardaani 2: Rani Mukerji will return as a cop in YRF's next film

Mumbai: Rani Mukerji, who recently celebrated her daughter Adira's third birthday, has announced her next Bollywood project, Mardaani 2. The upcoming cop drama will be a sequel to Rani's 2014 critically acclaimed hit.

Mardaani, helmed by Pradeep Sarkar, revolved around child trafficking and featured Rani as Shivani Shivaji Roy, senior inspector, crime branch. Mardaani 2 will be directed by Gopi Puthran, who worked as a writer on the first film.

The sequel is being bankrolled by Rani's husband Aditya Chopra and he is planning to start the 'Mardaani' franchise with the project.

Here's the statement posted by Yash Raj Films:

"'Mardaani' is and will always be extremely close to my heart. Right since its release, everyone has asked me time and again when I would be doing 'Mardaani 2' and I'm sure this announcement will come as a pleasant surprise to them all. Gopi has written an extraordinary script that we all love and I can't wait to start shooting this film soon," Rani said in a statement.

Giving a sneak peek into the character of the new antagonist, Rani said Shivani will face a "merciless" villain. "Shivani will face a cold, merciless villain who has no empathy, no fear of God and is pure evil. The character has been written superbly and I'm excited to find out who the actor will be," Rani said.

Mardaani 2 is set to go on floors in 2019 and will release in the later half of the year.

Rani Mukerji was last seen in Hichki, which released earlier this year. In Hichki, Rani played the role of an aspiring teacher battling Tourette Syndrome.