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By:

Bharati Dubey

17 May 2026 at 1:38:10 am

After Don-3 controversy, Ranveer’s next film goes on floors

Mumbai: After months of attention surrounding his reported exit from Don 3, Ranveer Singh has finally moved on to his next major cinematic venture. The actor’s ambitious survival spectacle Pralay has officially gone on floors in Mumbai today, marking the beginning of filming on one of the most ambitious and scale-driven projects in Indian cinema. Headlined by Ranveer Singh and directed by Jai Mehta, Pralay is an original end-of-the-world action thriller that promises to take audiences into a...

After Don-3 controversy, Ranveer’s next film goes on floors

Mumbai: After months of attention surrounding his reported exit from Don 3, Ranveer Singh has finally moved on to his next major cinematic venture. The actor’s ambitious survival spectacle Pralay has officially gone on floors in Mumbai today, marking the beginning of filming on one of the most ambitious and scale-driven projects in Indian cinema. Headlined by Ranveer Singh and directed by Jai Mehta, Pralay is an original end-of-the-world action thriller that promises to take audiences into a world on the brink of annihilation. Produced by Ananya Birla’s Birla Studios, Hansal Mehta and Sahil Saigal’s True Story Films, and Maa Kasam Films, the film combines large-scale spectacle with a deeply human story of survival, courage and the instinct to fight for what matters most. The film marks Ranveer’s next major motion picture following Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar – The Revenge, which emerged as the highest-grossing film of all time. With Pralay, the actor once again ventures into unexplored cinematic territory, taking on a disruptive new concept that demands both physical intensity and emotional conviction. Ranveer will also serve as a producer on the film. The project comes at an important point in the actor’s career. His reported exit from Don 3 had generated considerable buzz, particularly as he was expected to carry forward one of Indian cinema’s most iconic franchises. With Pralay, Ranveer now turns the page with an entirely original story rather than stepping into another established universe. Joining him is Lokah breakout actress Kalyani Priyadarshan, who plays a pivotal role in the film and brings together another exciting performer from the new generation of Indian talent. For Ananya Birla, Pralay represents Birla Studios’ ambition to push the boundaries of mainstream Indian cinema by collaborating with contemporary creative forces. For True Story Films’ Hansal Mehta and Sahil Saigal, the project reflects their commitment to disruptive storytelling and content-driven cinema. Behind the camera, Jai Mehta leads the ambitious project. His work on Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, which he co-directed with Hansal Mehta, and Lootere has earned widespread acclaim. With Pralay, he steps into a significantly larger canvas, bringing together an ensemble of creative and technical talent from India and around the world. Set against the unmistakable pulse and landscape of Mumbai, Pralay follows a relentless journey of survival against the terrifying possibility of an end-of-the-world catastrophe. The film aims to marry breathtaking spectacle with an emotional core, exploring what people are willing to do to survive when the world as they know it begins to collapse. The makers are shooting extensively at live locations in and around Mumbai, embracing the physicality and unpredictability of real-world environments. The approach is designed to add scale, texture and realism to the apocalyptic world while creating an immersive theatrical experience. The film had already undergone several months of highly technical and intensive pre-production before cameras began rolling. Its ambitious mounting and unusual premise have made Pralay one of the most talked-about upcoming projects in Indian cinema.

Civic Homicide

Road accidents in India have become almost quotidian. They are so frequent that they barely register beyond a statistic or a fleeting headline. Yet, even by these numbing standards the death of 27-year-old software engineer Yuvraj Mehta, who died last week after his car skidded in dense fog in Greater Noida stands apart.


Mehta was driving home from work in Gurugram when his vehicle smashed through a low boundary and plunged into a deep, water-filled excavation pit on an adjoining commercial plot in Sector 150. The pit was unfenced, unmarked and unlit. There were no barricades, no reflectors and no warning signs in a city that prides itself on planned development.


But Mehta did not die on impact. Trapped in his partially submerged car, he managed to climb onto the roof and call his father. For a harrowing 90 minutes, he pleaded to be rescued. Police reached the site while he was still alive and crying for help. Yet no one entered the water. Unable to swim, he clung to the vehicle until exhaustion and cold overwhelmed him. When he was finally pulled out, he was dead.


The excavation pit existed because the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department and the Noida Authority failed to construct a rainwater regulator despite an agreement reached in 2023. Water mismanagement at the Hindon–Yamuna confluence allowed rainwater to accumulate unchecked in a dug-up plot, effectively converting it into an unfenced waterbody beside a public road. There was no drainage, no monitoring and no safety barrier. Following Mehta’s death, officials began playing the blame game in earnest.


The road design compounded the risk. The stretch features a sharp 90-degree turn that becomes especially hazardous in fog. It has no advance warning signage, no adequate lighting and no robust crash barriers. Local residents say accidents had occurred at the same spot earlier and that repeated requests for reflectors and barricades were ignored.


The rescue operation was the most damning chapter of all. It beggars belief that despite multiple agencies including the police, fire services, the State Disaster Response Force and the National Disaster Response Force arriving on the spot, no one was trained, equipped or apparently authorised to enter the water to rescue a dying man. Officials later explained that rescuers feared additional casualties. In plain terms, the State watched a man drown because it had not planned for the possibility that someone might need saving.


One can understand or perhaps even come to terms if the victim had been trapped in some remote ravine or a Himalayan gorge. But this was an urban rescue involving a conscious victim who held on for life for a full 90 minutes. And yet, the government authorities failed a basic duty.


Yuvraj Mehta’s death is no road accident. It is administrative failure with lethal consequences. His death is the sorry outcome of a form of governance that treats safety as optional and accountability as negotiable. 


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