More than Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar and Ranveer Singh, not to forget Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tiger Shroff and Arjun Kapoor, if ‘Singham Again’ rewrites box-office history tomorrow, it will be because of the action entertainer’s mercurial director Rohit Shetty. Yes, Ajay walks and talks the gritty screen character with charismatic swag, but it is Rohit who really lives and breathes Singham. He is the actual heartbeat of this hugely popular and successful franchise. Hollywood can keep its Marvel Cinematic Universe of superhero characters, Bollywood has Rohit’s exciting Cop Universe of the action superstars of his police dramas. And tomorrow, they will come together to pitch brain and brawn in the third installment of the popular ‘Singham’ series. This is going to be an explosive Diwali.

It is two years since Rohit hits the screens again. His last outing, the quirky period comedy drama ‘Cirkus’ with Ranveer Singh in a double role, did not quite entertain in Christmas 2022. Rohit tried. He packed ‘Cirkus’ with Bollywood’s biggest comedians to make it work. Going to the extent of shooting during Covid after maintaining all protocols and surpassing his budget because that is what he is here to do in Bollywood and many artistes’ livelihoods depended on his films. It must have been a mad house. Yet Rohit did it. It’s a pity that audiences did not appreciate the film. Some unforgiving and selfish critics even bashed him in their reviews. Others trolled him on social media. Quite forgetting that Rohit was the same producer-director who gave us such delightfully entertaining films as the ‘Golmaal’ franchise, his Cop Universe actioners ‘Singham’, ‘Simmba’ and ‘Sooryavanshi’, and ‘Bol Bachchan’ and ‘Chennai Express’ that hit the action-comedy genre out of the park.

But if anybody thought Rohit had reached the end of his line with ‘Cirkus’ they were making a grave mistake. He is a brand. No filmmaker ever sets out to make a film because he wants it to flop and lose money. In Rohit’s case, his audience comes first, and when presenting a film, he is careful to see that it especially caters to children, senior citizens, the mummies and aunties. ‘Cirkus’ tried, but failed. That’s a pity. But not a reason to dismiss Rohit. The filmmaker has got several years of good cinema left in him. He will always be hot property in Bollywood. A giant of a man. In person as well. Tall, wide and muscular. Always well turned out. And good looking, too. Good enough to go on screen. Which he will not agree to. Hosting TV reality shows is as far as he will go. His place is behind the camera. He is like that in real life too. Working silently behind the scenes. Helping daily wagers of the industry during any crisis. Donating to the Mumbai Police Foundation from his film’s profits. Contributing to the CM’s Relief Fund in natural calamities. Helping bankrupt and forgotten senior actors. Last year he completed 20 years as an independent filmmaker. But the best of Rohit Shetty will come in his next decade starting now. It will happen this Diwali weekend when ‘Singham Again’ releases tomorrow. Be ready to stand and salute the real hero of the film when the credits come up at the end.