Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra who turned 46 just yesterday is all set to make her comeback to films after a self-imposed sabbatical of 13 years. The Dhadkan actress who was last seen in Anil Sharma's Apne back in 2007 is ending her break with Sabbir Khan's action entertainer Nikamma and will follow that up with Priyadarshan's comedy-drama, Hungama 2 which is scheduled to premiere directly on Disney+Hotstar in the coming months. While both her comeback films are yet to release, Peepingmoon.com has learned that the Baazigar actress has already signed a new film.

We've exclusively heard that Shilpa Shetty has next okayed Vikram Malhotra's next production that will see her playing a strong-willed woman's character. The yet-untitled film is a female-led intense drama and will also feature an ensemble cast alongside her. A debutant filmmaker Sonal Joshi has been roped in to helm this film. Joshi has previously assisted on films like Dhoom 3, Tamasha, Jab Harry Met Sejal, and Netflix series Bard of Blood, and will make her directorial debut with this Abundantia Entertainment production. The film is currently in pre-production and will get off the ground in the second half of this year. The exact shooting timelines will be locked soon.

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"Vikram Malhotra had this very interesting female story and pitched it to Shilpa Shetty early this year. When she read the script she instantly felt connected, and immediately agreed to come on board. It will see her playing a very challenging character, a kind of role she wanted to explore ever since she decided to get back into action. This film, in a way, will be her true comeback as she plays the central role in this film unlike Nikamma and Hungama 2 that are multi-starrers and revolve around other characters," a source close to the development told us.

Vikram Malhotra's Abundantia Entertainment has lately been working mostly on films that revolve around female protagonists. The Shilpa Shetty starrer will be their fifth upcoming project led by female stars after the soon-to-premiere Vidya Balan starrer Sherni, Nushrratt Bharuccha's horror drama Chhori, and their Amazon Prime series, Hush Hush that stars a bunch of ladies like Juhi Chawla, Ayesha Jhulka, Karishma Tanna, Shahana Goswami, and Kritika Kamra. The banner is also making a film with Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah that will be directed by Tumhari Sulu fame Suresh Triveni, as we exclusively revealed last month.