Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra 2 has been in the development stage for a while, and finding a steady studio partner has been one of the primary focuses for the team. According to a report by Bollywood Hungama, while Ayan's production house, Starlight Pictures, holds the IP rights for the franchise, they have been looking for a major studio to collaborate with for the sequel. It now appears that a familiar name might be returning to the production fold.
The search for a studio partner has seen several discussions fall through over the last few months. The report mentions that the makers were previously in talks with Jio Studios, but the premier studio eventually decided against the association. Prior to that, discussions were also held with Dharma Productions and Yash Raj Films, though neither of those materialized into a final deal. Interestingly, even though Star Studios was a key partner on the first film, they are currently not involved with the sequel, despite the Star-Disney and Reliance-Jio merger ecosystem.
Now, the latest report from Bollywood Hungama suggests that Namit Malhotra of Prime Focus is in advanced talks to come on board as the studio partner for Brahmastra 2. Namit Malhotra, who is also producing the high-profile Ramayana, has a long-standing history with this franchise as Prime Focus was one of the producers of the first Brahmastra in 2022. Given the heavy reliance on visual effects for this series, his company’s global expertise in VFX is considered a natural fit for the scale Ayan Mukerji is planning for the second part.
While nothing has been finalized yet, the discussions are reportedly in an advanced stage. Starlight Pictures is looking for a partner that understands the technical demands of a VFX-heavy project, and the previous working relationship with Namit Malhotra makes this a strong possibility. If this deal goes through, it would provide the necessary backing to get the production of the sequel moving forward after the various shifts in the studio lineup.
Bollywood
