Akshay Kumar announces new film Ram Setu on the occasion of Diwali

On the occasion of Diwali, Akshay Kumar made a surprise announcement of one of his upcoming films, Ram Setu.

The film will be directed by Abhishek Sharma, whose family entertainer Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari is all set to be released tomorrow.

Ram Setu is a bridge that finds an important place in the epic Ramayana. The epic mentions that the bridge was built to connect the tip of southern India to Lanka (present-day Sri Lanka) by an army of monkeys which was assisting Ram to rescue his wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana.

It is believed that the bridge was made with stones that floated on water because the name of Ram was written on each of them. Of course, there has been heated debate about the authenticity of the claim in the epic over the decades. The film's tagline, 'Myth Or Reality', suggests that Ram Setu may touch upon this aspect.

The poster for the film sees Akshay Kumar walking across the bridge with an image of Ram in the background. Going by the actor's attire, bag and bespectacled look, it seems he is playing a researcher or an archaeologist. 

Sharing the poster on Twitter, Akshay Kumar wrote, "This Deepawali, let us endeavour to keep alive the ideals of Ram in the consciousness of all Bharatiyas by building a bridge (setu) that will connect generations to come. Taking this mammoth task ahead, here is our humble attempt — Ram Setu. Wishing you and yours a very Happy Deepawali!" 

Ram Setu is being produced by Aruna Bhatia and Vikram Malhotra. Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi, best known for directing the iconic television serial Chanakya and playing the lead role in it, is on board as creative producer.