Saif Ali Khan to play Lankesh in Prabhas-starrer Adipurush

Actor Saif Ali Khan has been roped in to play the villain in Om Raut's epic saga Adipurush (2022). The director announced the news on social media today and introduced Khan's character Lankesh as "the world's most intelligent demon".

The film marks Khan's second collaboration with Raut after Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020). The actor had played the antagonist Udaybhan in the film.

Khan, who is "thrilled" to be a part of the film, said in a statement, "I'm thrilled to be working with Omi dada (Om Raut) again! He has a grand vision and the technical knowledge to really pull it off. He has taken me beyond the cutting edge of our cinema in the way he shot Tanhaji and this time he is taking us all further! It's a phenomenal project and I'm super thrilled to be a part of it! I look forward to clashing swords with the mighty Prabhas and to play a role that is electrifying and demonic!" 

Apart from Adipurush, Khan will be seen in Bhoot Police (2021) and Bunty Aur Babli 2 (2020).

Produced by Raut, Bhushan Kumar, Krishna Kumar, Prasad Sutar and Rajesh Nair, the film is currently in the pre-production stage and will hit the theatres in 2022. The 3D film will be shot in Hindi and Telugu simultaneously and dubbed in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and several foreign languages.