The Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster franchise has been a successful one since its first release in 2011. Tigmanshu Dhulia, who had helmed the first two parts, is back with the third part of the romantic thriller drama, Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3. Set to hit the silver screen on July 27, the film will have Jimmy Shergill and Mahie Gill—who have been a part of the film since the beginning—in the lead roles.
Though Soha Ali Khan will be seen playing a smaller part this time, the film also marks the entry of
Chitrangada Singh and Sanjay Dutt as gangsters.
Shergill, who had featured in the lead role in Dhulia’s directorial debut Haasil in 2003, says, “It has always been amazing working with him. Mazaa aa jata hai (It’s fun). When you already have a good rapport with your director and are doing the sixth film with him, there’s an understanding of the director’s view of character and things become very easy.” Adding more on his comfort level with the director, the actor says: “Especially when someone like Tigmanshu narrates something to me, I know where it’s coming from, and I know what he wants me do with the character.”
About the upcoming film, Shergill, who made his Bollywood debut with Maachis in 1996, says, “The sequences and scenes were quite interesting but not very straight. But the way scenes were written, it is very interesting for an actor to perform.” Recently seen in multi-starrer Phamous, Mahie had also been a prominent face in Dhulia’s projects, including Paan Singh Tomar.
Revealing her experience of being back on the sets again, Mahie says, “I have enjoyed being part of the franchise from the very first day. There’s always been a growth in my character. In the first part, Biwi was madly in love with her husband but she won’t get his attention, so she would do wrong things. In the second part, she grows into a politician. But this time she’s become really bad, and what she’s not done in the other two parts, she’ll be doing in this one.”
A National School of Drama graduate, Dhulia says, “In the film, Saheb and Biwi are the permanent
characters, while the gangsters keep changing in every part. But the most difficult part among all three of them is actually of the gangster, as all the conflicts and motives of Saheb and Biwi are almost the same.”
Dhulia, who has also written the story, met Sanjay Dutt even before casting him, and wrote his part keeping Sanjay’s personality in mind.
He says, “Sanju’s character is not ruthless but is full of pain all through his journey in the film; he likes someone a lot and then chahat aapse kya karati hai, kis level par lekar jaati hai (love can make you do things, you will normally never do). He is not a black gangster at all.”
Known for his iconic role of Raja Awasthi, Shergill says, “Basically, the film is about the struggle of the power for each and every character this time,” adding, “If I could manage, I would do at least two-three films with Tigmanshu every year.”
Moreover, the film will see Shergill working with Dutt for the fourth time together. He says, “It was great to see him back, and work with him. We used to talk in Punjabi ever since we first shot for Munna Bhai MBBS.”
Speaking of how easy or difficult it is to relive a character, Jimmy says, “As far as Saheb is concerned, it’s pretty much in my blood now. So, tomorrow if they say they are making the fourth part, I will be ready to shoot.”
Affirming that audiences will get to see a stronger and more politically motivated Biwi this time, Mahie
says, “She’s has become more scheming, very mean and she can go to any extent to do anything. oreover, she has become very big as a politician too.” Speaking of his idea about the third part, Dhulia says, “When you make a sequel, you are already in a safe zone because you have an audience who will go to cinemas, and a new audience also comes in. The peculiarity of the film is that here the same story is moving ahead. The story is about the world of royalty and palace politics.”
On the work front, Jimmy’s next release is Happy Phir Bhag Jayegi with talented names such as Diana Penty, Sonakshi Sinha, and Piyush Mishra, while Mahie will soon be spotted in Lucknow for her next B-Town film. Besides, Dhulia will also make a comeback into acting with SRK-starrer Zero.