Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra wrapped up the final schedule of Anurag Singh's upcoming period war film, Kesari, in Jaipur today. Based on the historic Battle of Saragarhi — where a contingent of 21 Sikh soldiers were attacked by 10,000 Afghans on September 2, 1897 — Kesari stars Akshay in the role of Havilder Ishwar Singh, who fought till his death to protect the North-West Frontier Province of British India. Parineeti plays Havilder Ishwar Singh's estranged daughter.
"Kesari is a big-budget war film. I get excited whenever I do a project that marries content with commercial elements. 2.0 was also in that zone, so I want to keep exploring this space in the future," says Akshay, who has co-produced the film with Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment and Zee Studios.
Anurag Singh made his Bollywood directorial debut with the Hindi romantic thriller, Raqeeb (2007). He is known for helming successful Punjabi films like Yaar Annmulle, Jatt & Juliet, Jatt & Juliet 2 and Super Singh. Kesari is scheduled for release on March 21.
Besides this film, Akshay Kumar will be seen in the upcoming space drama film, Mission Mangal, and the comedy, Housefull 4. He is also expected to portray Rajput ruler Prithviraj Chauhan in an upcoming biopic produced by Yash Raj Films.