Pralay — Overview
Pralay is an upcoming Hindi-language post-apocalyptic zombie survival thriller starring Ranveer Singh, directed by Jai Mehta in his feature film debut. As of mid-August 2026, principal photography has begun in Mumbai. The film is produced by Ananya Birla’s Birla Studios, Hansal Mehta and Sahil Saigal’s True Story Films, and Ranveer Singh’s Maa Kasam Films (also referred to as Ma Kasam Films). It is positioned as a large-scale, technically ambitious genre film of a kind rarely attempted in Hindi cinema.
Cast
Ranveer Singh leads the film in a physically demanding role and also serves as a producer. This project follows his work in the Dhurandhar films and marks a shift into a high-concept survival genre for the actor. He has been closely involved in creative aspects, including script development and visual planning, and reports indicate he approached the project after being impressed by Jai Mehta’s earlier work.
Kalyani Priyadarshan plays a pivotal role opposite him, marking her Bollywood debut. She rose to wider prominence with the Malayalam superhero film Lokah Chapter One: Chandra (2025). Reports have described the pairing as a married couple central to the survival narrative. Some sources have also listed Resad Ajim among the cast, though details remain limited.
Casting director Mukesh Chhabra has been linked to the project through meetings and prior collaborations with Ranveer Singh. Full supporting cast details have not been extensively publicized as production is still early.
Crew and Key Creative Team
Director: Jai Mehta (feature debut). He previously co-directed the acclaimed SonyLIV series Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (2020) with his father Hansal Mehta and directed the series Lootere (2024). Hansal Mehta has spoken about Ranveer’s conviction in both the script and Jai enabling the project to move forward.
Writers: Jai Mehta and Vishal Kapoor (original screenplay). The story underwent extensive development, concept-proofing, and pre-visualization after Ranveer committed.
Producers:
- Ananya Birla (Birla Studios)
- Hansal Mehta and Sahil Saigal (True Story Films)
- Ranveer Singh (Maa Kasam Films)
Hansal Mehta has described his involvement as that of a producer focused on budget control, script input, and supporting the director’s vision while keeping the process collaborative.
Notable technical crew (from production reports and industry sources):
- Cinematography: Juan Carlos Gil (known for Narcos) has been associated; additional cinematography credits have also appeared.
- Other reported international and specialized talent includes contributions in VFX supervision, action design, makeup and prosthetics (with credits linked to high-profile international genre work), stunts/motion capture, sound design, and music supervision. The production has emphasized assembling a mix of Indian and international crew for the scale of the world-building required.
Music has been linked in some reports to Achint (associated with Scam 1992 and other projects). Exact final credits remain subject to official confirmation as filming progresses.
Budget
Multiple reports place the budget at approximately ₹300 crore. This figure would make Pralay the most expensive standalone (single-film) project in Ranveer Singh’s career to date. The high cost reflects ambitions for extensive visual effects, production design to create a dystopian Mumbai, international technical talent, and large-scale action/survival sequences. Official confirmation of the exact budget has not been issued by the producers, but the ₹300 crore estimate has been consistent across major entertainment outlets.
Ranveer is reported to have a significant remuneration package (one exclusive report cited a substantial fixed fee plus backend profit-sharing and entourage provisions), consistent with a high-stakes genre project of this size.
Plot and Story Premise
Pralay is an original story, not an adaptation. Hansal Mehta has explicitly clarified that it is not based on José Saramago’s novel Blindness (or its film version), despite earlier online speculation that arose partly from a book recommendation involving the cast. The screenplay was developed by Jai Mehta and Vishal Kapoor over an extended period.
The narrative is set in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian version of Mumbai devastated by catastrophe—described across reports as a zombie outbreak or end-of-the-world event that causes social breakdown. It centers on survival, with a married couple (played by Ranveer Singh and Kalyani Priyadarshan) fighting to stay alive in a collapsing city. Themes include social and moral collapse, scarcity, and human resilience amid chaos.
Makers have emphasized immersive world-building: large sections of Mumbai digitally aged or reimagined to appear abandoned and ruined (with some comparisons in reporting to the scale of dystopian visions like The Hunger Games), blending live-location shooting with heavy VFX and AI-assisted extensions. The production is currently filming at real locations across the Mumbai region for texture and realism. Earlier plans had included significant shooting in Australia, but the schedule shifted toward Mumbai-based production.
No detailed official synopsis, character arcs, or specific plot points beyond the survival-in-dystopian-Mumbai framework have been released, as the film remains in production. IMDb and other listings describe it in broad terms as exploring themes of social breakdown and survival in a dark post-apocalyptic setting overrun with zombies.
Hansal Mehta has called it “the kind of film that India hasn’t made yet, the kind of film that India hasn’t seen before,” highlighting the rarity of a large-scale, original zombie/post-apocalyptic survival thriller in mainstream Hindi cinema (prior Indian takes on zombies, such as Go Goa Gone, operated on different scales and tones).
Production Status and Background
The project has been in development and pre-production for many months, involving intensive technical preparation. Filming officially began in Mumbai around mid-August 2026. It is expected to be VFX-heavy. Release date has not been announced; industry tracking suggests a possible 2027 theatrical window, though nothing is confirmed.
Pralay holds particular significance as one of the early major features under Ananya Birla’s Birla Studios and as a key title for True Story Films. It also represents the first major production under Ranveer’s Maa Kasam Films banner in some reports. The actor’s early and deep involvement—reaching out after seeing Jai Mehta’s work, committing to the idea, and staying engaged through development—has been repeatedly cited by Hansal Mehta as enabling the ambitious scale.
Context in Hindi Cinema and Genre Ambition
Hindi cinema has long favored certain commercial templates (romance, action, family drama, historical/epic). High-concept genre films—especially original post-apocalyptic or zombie narratives with serious world-building—have been scarce at this budget level. Western and East Asian cinema have extensive canons in the zombie/survival space (28 Days Later, Train to Busan, World War Z, I Am Legend, etc.), but Indian mainstream attempts have typically been lighter, smaller, or more comedic. Pralay aims to treat the genre with scale, technical ambition, and an Indian urban setting (a ruined Mumbai), which presents both creative opportunity and production challenges in terms of visual effects, prosthetics, action, and creating a believable dystopian environment on Indian budgets relative to Hollywood.
The involvement of international technicians (cinematography, VFX, prosthetics, stunts) signals an intent to meet global technical standards while rooting the story in a local context. Shooting primarily on live Mumbai locations rather than fully constructed sets is intended to ground the film in recognizable geography even as the city is transformed into a post-catastrophe landscape.
Additional Notes on Development and Challenges
Reports at various stages mentioned script locking, pre-visualization, and creative discussions involving Ranveer. There were brief periods of industry rumor (including unfounded claims of creative differences or exit), which production sources dismissed as baseless; the project proceeded to cameras. The physical and emotional demands of the role for Ranveer have been highlighted, with the actor beginning preparation well in advance.
Because the film is still shooting, information on final runtime, music, additional cast, exact release strategy, and detailed plot remains incomplete. Future official announcements from the producers, director, or lead actors will provide further clarity.
In summary, Pralay is a high-stakes, original post-apocalyptic zombie survival thriller led by Ranveer Singh and Kalyani Priyadarshan, directed by Jai Mehta, produced by Birla Studios, True Story Films, and Maa Kasam Films, with a reported budget of around ₹300 crore. Its core premise follows a married couple’s struggle for survival in a dystopian, catastrophe-ravaged Mumbai. Filming is underway in Mumbai as of August 2026, with an emphasis on immersive world-building and technical scale uncommon in the genre within Hindi cinema. Full cast and crew lists, a precise plot synopsis, and release details will emerge as production advances.