Ranveer Singh not playing Lord Shiva; Amish Tripathi denies report of actor buying rights of Immortals of Meluha series

Amish Tripathi has clarified that Ranveer Singh is not involved in the adaptation of his Shiva Trilogy - Immortals of Meluha series - despite earlier reports.

Dhurandhar has been a game changer for Ranveer Singh's career, catapulting him to the ranks of the biggest stars in the Hindi film industry. After the film's historic success, all eyes are on next projects the actor will take on, and reports had been doing the rounds that Ranveer would play the role of Lord Shiva in a film adaptation based on author Amish Tripathi’s Shiva Trilogy -- the Immortals of Meluha series. Amish, however, dismissed such claims on Tuesday and clarified that the Gully Boy actor isn't associated with the project.

Will Ranveer play Lord Shiva?

Ranveer Singh in a still from Dhurandhar: The Revenge.

Earlier, a report in Pinkvilla claimed that Ranveer had bought the rights to the Immortals of Meluha series under his production banner, Maa Kasam Film. It also suggested that the actor had partnered with Birla Studios to develop it as a grand-scale trilogy. However, Amish denied all these claims and told Variety India, “The rights for the Shiva Trilogy are with me. And nothing has been signed with anyone as yet. Of course, I have huge respect for Ranveer, and am a big fan of his. But this news is not true.”

Why Amish’s Shiva Trilogy isn't seeing the light of day

Several filmmakers have acquired the rights to Amish’s Shiva Trilogy over the years, but none of the projects have materialised. In 2014, Karan Johar acquired the rights to the trilogy, but the project was eventually shelved. It was later reported that filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali had also bought the rights to the trilogy, but that adaptation too failed to take off.

The Immortals of Meluha series consists of three books: The Immortals of Meluha, followed by The Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras. The fantasy fiction series reimagines Hindu mythology and follows the story of a Tibetan tribal leader, Shiva, who moves to the near-perfect empire of Meluha, where he is recognised as the prophesied saviour, the Neelkanth.

Ranveer Singh's next project

Ranveer was supposed to star in Don 3, but he had a bitter split with Farhan Akhtar following creative differences and a reportedly messy dispute. However, it has now been confirmed that the actor will next star in filmmaker Jai Mehta’s theatrical debut, Pralay. The film is being described as a big-budget zombie thriller.