Anil Sharma Confirms Arjun Naga Will Be a Four-Part Saga on 1960s Dubai Oil Rush; Randeep Hooda and Celina Jaitly Join Cast

While Dhurandhar and Ramayana were conceived as two-part sagas, Anil Sharma is going four steps ahead. The Gadar director has confirmed that his upcoming period drama Arjun Naga, headlined by his son Utkarsh Sharma, will unfold as a four-part cinematic saga.

“Arjun Naga is about Dubai’s oil rush in the 1960s. We are making the film in four parts, and it will have 10-12 top actors in pivotal roles spread across these instalments. The title will change with each part. We will shoot in Mumbai, Rajasthan, other parts of India, Dubai, and other international cities,” Sharma told Mid-Day.

The announcement marks a significant escalation in the multi-part trend that has reshaped Indian franchise filmmaking. Earlier, filmmakers typically waited for a film to succeed before mounting a sequel, but Baahubali and Pushpa changed that calculus. Dhurandhar was shot as one massive project before being split into two parts, while Ramayana was envisioned as a two-part saga from the very beginning. Sharma is now the first major Hindi filmmaker to announce a four-instalment plan upfront.

Arjun Naga is set against one of the defining economic transformations of the 20th century — Dubai’s oil boom of the 1960s. The story opens when Dubai was still a small fishing and trading centre with dusty roads and simple homes, and traces the events leading to the discovery of oil at the emirate’s Fateh field in 1966, following the 1963 oil exploration concession granted to the Continental Oil Company. Against that backdrop, Utkarsh Sharma’s character rises from extreme poverty to become one of the richest men in Dubai, with the film’s fictional characters’ power dynamics playing out against the emirate’s changing landscape.

Utkarsh Sharma stars in the title role in what will be his fifth collaboration with his father, following Gadar – Ek Prem Katha (2001), Genius (2018), Gadar 2 (2023) and Vanvaas (2024). Arjun Rampal, riding high on his turn as the principal antagonist in Dhurandhar The Revenge, has come on board as the villain and began shooting at Film City, Mumbai, on October 12. The ensemble has since expanded further, with Randeep Hooda and Celina Jaitly joining the cast, and Nidhhi Agerwal also part of the project.

The first instalment is currently being shot at Film City, Mumbai, with filming planned across Rajasthan, Dubai and other international locations as the saga expands.

Source: Bollywood Hungama (Mid-Day), Box Office Worldwide, CineTalkers