Tere Bin Laden 3 to roll soon with Ali Zafar

Two years after its release, Tere Bin Laden’s sequel is set to roll. It’s been titled Tere Bin Laden 3 (TBL 3) because, as producer Pooja Shetty puts it, “TLB 2 was killed with Osama," reports Roshmila Bhattacharya.

Two years after its release, Tere Bin Laden’s sequel is set to roll. It’s been titled Tere Bin Laden 3 (TBL 3) because, as producer Pooja Shetty puts it, “TLB 2 was killed with Osama”. Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the US, was shot dead in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, in an operation ordered by US President Barack Obama.

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Asserting that there won’t be any confusion about the missing Part 2 because it will be convincingly justified, Pooja admits that 60 to 70 per cent of the original cast will be retained in the sequel. Though there will be some new additions and they don’t necessarily have to be big names, the final decision is yet to be taken. Dismissing reports that Ali Zafar will not return in this part, she says, “We’ve spoken to him and he’s excited about the film. It may not be a big part, but it will be a significant cameo. Ali is definitely going to be part of TBL 3.”

The film is still in its pre-production stage and Pooja is in no hurry to roll with it or release it within this year. “We’ve waited for two years despite everyone telling us otherwise. Earlier, after the ban in Pakistan, we were nervous about stirring things up and then the ideas didn’t work. But Abhishek (director Abhishek Sharma) came up with this concept and we have decided to go with it.”

TBL was denied an official release in Pakistan despite removing mention of ‘Osama’ from the title. And Pooja is still upset. “I sent the print a week in advance and they left the decision pending till two days before the release, by which time, pirated DVDs were out. I lost Rs 3-4 crore in gross revenue,” she says, adding, “I made TBL with a Pakistani actor and couldn’t take my film there. It was an emotional jolt. So this time I won’t consider Pakistan as a territory and won’t include it in my budget plan. If they ask for TBL 3, it’ll be a bonus.”