Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty started shooting for Priyadarshan’s upcoming multilingual thriller, Marakkar: The Lion of the Arabia Sea, in Hyderabad on Saturday. The big-budget period film also stars Mohanlal and Prabhudeva. Shetty and Priyadarshan last collaborated on the 2009 comedy film, De Dana Dan.

Shetty’s character in the film is that of a warrior in 16th century India. The 57-year-old actor has reportedly trained hard for the role, and will be seen doing sword-fighting and hand-to-hand combat. Marakkar: The Lion of the Arabia Sea tells the story of Kunjali Marrakar (played by Mohanlal) — the brave naval chief of the Zamorin empire of Calicut — and his epic maritime battles against the Portuguese.

Suniel Shetty was last seen in the 2018 Marathi film, Aa Bb Kk. He is also a part of the upcoming Kannada film, Pailwaan, and the Bollywood franchise comedy, Hera Pheri 3.