Ali Abbas opens up on his action film with Katrina Kaif

Ali Abbas Zafar said it was high time somebody in Bollywood took the brave step to invest in an action movie fronted by a female actor. The filmmaker has roped in his friend Katrina Kaif to headline the slick which is designed like a franchise. Katrina and the filmmaker have previously collaborated on his directorial debut Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and blockbusters Tiger Zinda Hai and Bharat.

Mumbai: Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar, who is gearing up to start work on his "stylised" action film with Bollywood star Katrina Kaif in the lead, believes a female-led actioner was long overdue in the Hindi film industry.

The director said it was high time somebody in Bollywood took the brave step to invest in an action movie fronted by a female actor.

"I had a story and I was excited about it. When the script came out I felt this should be made. I shared it with Katrina and she liked it. She is a part of the film.

"It is high time we have a film that is mounted with a woman with an international scale of action and storytelling. Somebody had to take the brave step. It is designed like a franchise, but let's see (how it goes)," Ali told PTI.

Katrina and the filmmaker have previously collaborated on his directorial debut Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and blockbusters Tiger Zinda Hai and Bharat.

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Ali said the film is currently in the pre-production stage and the team plans to roll once the situation is safe for everyone to return to the sets amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"We will have to wait and watch. We will take precautions and go back to work but only when everything is fine. We will have to work out a proper schedule.

The director revealed the team is already in talks with the authorities of a couple of countries to schedule the international shoot.

"The film is set in India. There is a foreign location in the film. We will get some clarity when international flights start functioning again," he added.

Ali said the project will be officially announced after its title and complete cast is locked.

With inputs from PTI