The future of Kamal Haasan's Indian 3 appears uncertain following the muted reception to Indian 2, with reports suggesting that director S Shankar may move on to another ambitious project instead.

According to reports circulating online, Shankar has reportedly informed Lyca Productions that he intends to begin work on his dream project Velpari. The production house has allegedly been given a window of two to three months to decide whether they wish to complete and release Indian 3. If no decision is taken within that timeframe, the filmmaker is said to be planning to proceed with Velpari and focus entirely on completing its three-part saga, without returning to the Indian franchise.

The uncertainty comes after Indian 2 failed to generate the expected response at the box office. The sequel marked the return of Kamal Haasan as Senapathy, the vigilante character first introduced in the 1996 film Indian.

Production of Indian 2 had earlier faced multiple delays. During a period when filming was stalled, Shankar moved on to direct Game Changer, starring Ram Charan. When Lyca Productions later requested him to resume work on Indian 2, the director reportedly balanced both projects simultaneously. Some sequences of the film were also said to have been handled by members of his assistant director team and filmmakers such as Arivazhagan.

Following the lukewarm response to both films, Shankar is now believed to be keen on avoiding multiple commitments at once. Instead, he reportedly plans to channel his attention into Velpari, which is said to be envisioned as a large-scale historical epic using cutting-edge filmmaking technology.

For now, these developments remain speculative, as neither the director nor the production house has issued an official confirmation.

Meanwhile, Indian 2 expanded the story of Senapathy, a former freedom fighter and martial arts expert who takes the law into his own hands to combat corruption. Alongside Kamal Haasan, the film featured a large ensemble cast including Siddharth, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Rakul Preet Singh, SJ Suryah, Vivek, Samuthirakani, Bobby Simha, and Nedumudi Venu in key roles.

The film concluded with a cliffhanger and even included a post-credit sequence that delves into the backstory of Senapathy’s father, with Kajal Aggarwal appearing in a significant role, seemingly setting the stage for a third instalment.