Mardaani 3, the third instalment of the popular Rani Mukerji starrer female cop franchise, will now arrive in theatres a month sooner than earlier planned. The film will release on January 30, the makers announced on Saturday evening.

Produced by Yash Raj Films, Mardaani 3 is produced by Yash Raj Films directed by debutant director Abhiraj Minawala. The production banner also shared a new poster on the occasion, which features an intense-looking Rani gazing into the camera, while a horde of young girls whose identity has been reduced to ‘missing’ cases, stand in the background. 

The first two parts of the franchise — Mardaani and Mardaani 2  — released in 2014 and 2019, respectively. While Pradeep Sarkar directed the first film, Mardaani 2 was directed by Gopi Puthran. Besides achieving box office succes, the film also introduced young actors to the industry like Tahir Raj Bhasin and Vishal Jethwa, who played the main antagonist in the films. 

While more details about the primary cast are yet to be officially announced, Mardaani 3 has technicians like cinematographer Artur Zurawski, editor Yasha Jaidev Ramchandani, and production designer Kailash Sahu on board. Aayush Gupta has penned the screenplay and dialogues, besides co-writing the story  with Deepak Kingrani and Baljeet Singh Marwah. 

Abhiraj has been active as an assistant director for over 15 years, having worked on films like Rocket Singh, Fan, Band Baaja Baraat, Tiger 3, and War 2.  Meanwhile, Rani was last seen in Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, which released in 2023 and also starred Anirban Bhattacharya, Neena Gupta and Jim Sarbh in pivotal roles.

Other upcoming Yash Raj productions include Alia Bhatt-Sharvari Wagh starrer Alpha, which is reportedly being pushed by a few months.