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‘Ranveer Singh’s conviction and commitment towards both the script and Jai has enabled Pralay’: Hansal Mehta
Ranveer Singh stars in Pralay, a post-apocalyptic zombie thriller by Jai Mehta. Hansal Mehta reveals the actor approached Jai after seeing his work, backing the ambitious, big-budget project.
Ranveer Singh to star in Jay Mehta's Pralay. (Photo: Instagram/Ranveer Singh, Hansal Mehta)
Ranveer Singh is set to star in Pralay, a post-apocalyptic zombie survival thriller. Directed by Jai Mehta, the film is backed by Hansal Mehta’s banner True Story Films and co-produced by Ranveer’s own Maa Kasam Films. Hansal has revealed that it was Ranveer who approached Jai after being impressed by his work. Jai, Hansal Mehta’s son, has previously assisted his father on films like Shahid and Aligarh. He later co-directed acclaimed shows such as Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story on SonyLIV and Lootere on JioHotstar.
Ranveer Singh reached out to Jai Mehta
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Hansal Mehta revealed that it was Ranveer Singh who initiated contact after seeing Jai Mehta’s work.
“Jai had been working on this idea for a long time When Ranveer saw his directorial work, he was impressed. Then Jai pitched the idea to him. Once Ranveer said he liked the idea, we invested in developing it—helping Jai create the world he wants to present in the film. Ranveer’s conviction and commitment towards both the script and Jai has enabled Pralay,” he told THR India.
The project then went through multiple stages of development, including concept-proofing and pre-visualisation, to build the scale required for a film of this nature.
A zombie film India hasn’t seen before
Pralay is set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic landscape overrun by zombies – territory rarely explored at this scale in Hindi cinema.
“It’s a post-apocalyptic world that hasn’t been attempted before at this scale in India. Development is not just about writing. It also includes ideas—how you shape them, how you visualise them, and how you eventually sell them to a third party, to a star or a studio. We’ve invested in building those ideas,” Hansal said.
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Not an adaptation, but an original story
Amid speculation that Pralay might be inspired by José Saramago’s novel Blindness, Hansal Mehta firmly dismissed the rumours.
“It’s not an adaptation. Jay and Vishal Kapoor have written the original story. Further, I think a book like Blindness is not easily adapted to film. I had seen the 2008 film adaptation (starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo) and it wasn’t great. Writers like Saramago or Salman Rushdie… I feel they are best experienced on paper. Their books lose all their magic when interpreted for cinema.”
Building a global-scale production
With a reported budget of Rs 300 crore, Pralay is currently in pre-production, with an international crew being assembled to bring its vision to life.
“The victory of Jai’s film will depend on its immersive nature. How do you make a post-apocalyptic, dystopian world believable? To that end, we are working with some of the best talent from around the world. And we are trying to achieve it at a fraction of the cost in which Hollywood would have done it,” Mehta said.
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About Pralay
Described as a post-apocalyptic zombie survival thriller, Pralay will mark Jai Mehta’s feature directorial debut. The screenplay has been developed by Jai Mehta and co-writer Vishal Kapoor over several months.
The film is expected to feature large-scale worldbuilding, set in a dystopian city ravaged by zombies, and aims to push the boundaries of genre filmmaking in India. It is slated to go on floors in mid-2026.
Actor Kalyani Priyadarshan is reportedly associated with the project, potentially marking her Bollywood debut, although an official confirmation is awaited.
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