Vidya Balan To Akshay Kumar: When Bollywood Stars Entered South Franchises Midway
As Vidya Balan enters Rajinikanth’s ‘Jailer 2’ as Kantha, here are other Bollywood stars who joined popular South film franchises in later installments.
IST
Last Updated On
IST
The sequel boom in Indian cinema is no longer simply about bringing back a hit hero, enlarging the action set pieces and adding a numeral to the title. A successful franchise now arrives with a bigger world, a wider language footprint and, quite often, a surprise face from another industry. For Bollywood actors, that can mean entering a story after its rules, rivalries and fan following have already been firmly established – and still finding a way to leave their own stamp on it.
ALSO READ | From Yash-Kiara To SRK-Nayanthara: Bollywood And South’s Biggest Star Collaborations
Vidya Balan is the latest major Hindi film name to take that route. Sun Pictures recently introduced her as the commanding Kantha in ‘Jailer 2’, Nelson Dilipkumar’s sequel to Rajinikanth’s 2023 blockbuster. The film is scheduled to release worldwide on October 15, 2026, and will bring back Rajinikanth as “Tiger” Muthuvel Pandian. With Vidya now joining the game, here is a look at Bollywood stars who entered popular Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam franchises only in a later installment.
1. Vidya Balan In ‘Jailer 2’
Vidya Balan’s character-reveal video did not need an elaborate action sequence to establish authority. Draped in a saree, cigarette in hand and completely in control of the room, she was introduced as Kantha – a formidable new presence in the ‘Jailer’ world. Her exact equation with Rajinikanth’s Muthuvel Pandian remains under wraps, but the glimpse makes it clear that she is not being added as ornamental star power.
Directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, ‘Jailer 2’ is the second installment in the franchise and is set to release on October 15, 2026. Rajinikanth leads an ensemble featuring returning actors Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu and Mirnaa, while Vidya, Mithun Chakraborty, SJ Suryah and Suraj Venjaramoodu are among the prominent new entrants. The first ‘Jailer’, released on August 10, 2023, grossed Rs 604.50 crore worldwide, according to Sacnilk.
ALSO READ | ‘Ghajini’ To ‘Drishyam’: 15 South Indian Movies Remade In Bollywood
2. Mithun Chakraborty In ‘Jailer 2’
Vidya is not the only Bollywood veteran whom Nelson Dilipkumar has drafted for round two. Mithun Chakraborty has also entered the ‘Jailer’ franchise in its second installment, setting up a rare big-screen meeting with Rajinikanth. Reports have described his part as full-fledged and important to the plot, although the makers have not publicly revealed his character’s name or precise role. That mystery is worth preserving, especially in a franchise that turned well-timed appearances by Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar and Jackie Shroff into major theatrical moments the first time around.
Like Vidya, Mithun will be seen in the Nelson-directed ‘Jailer 2’, due in cinemas on October 15, 2026. Its announced cast is led by Rajinikanth and includes Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu, Mirnaa, Vidya Balan, SJ Suryah and Suraj Venjaramoodu, besides Mithun.
3. Emraan Hashmi In ‘G2’
After playing the menacing Omi Bhau in Pawan Kalyan’s ‘They Call Him OG’, Emraan Hashmi is going deeper into Telugu cinema with ‘G2’. The film is the second chapter of the ‘Goodachari’ spy franchise, which began with Adivi Sesh’s acclaimed 2018 thriller. Emraan was not part of the original; he is one of the biggest new additions as the sequel takes Agent Gopi’s mission beyond the relatively contained world of the first film and onto a more international canvas.
Vinay Kumar Sirigineedi makes his directorial debut with ‘G2’, which is now scheduled to release on February 5, 2027. Adivi Sesh returns as the central spy, while the cast also includes Emraan, Wamiqa Gabbi as Agent 116, Supriya Yarlagadda, Murali Sharma and Madhu Shalini. Its predecessor, ‘Goodachari’, released on August 3, 2018, was directed by Sashi Kiran Tikka and starred Adivi Sesh, Sobhita Dhulipala, Jagapathi Babu and Prakash Raj. Made on a modest scale, it reportedly grossed more than Rs 25 crore worldwide.
4. Sanjay Dutt In ‘KGF Chapter 2’
Few sequel entries have been as perfectly matched to an actor’s screen image as Sanjay Dutt’s arrival in ‘KGF: Chapter 2’. The first film had already built Adheera into a dreaded off-screen name; the follow-up finally gave that threat a face. With braided hair, tattoos, heavy armour and a giant sword, Sanjay Dutt played the brutal challenger to Yash’s Rocky and made his Kannada debut with a villain designed for the biggest possible screen.
Prashanth Neel’s second ‘KGF’ installment was released on April 14, 2022. It brought back Yash and Srinidhi Shetty, while Sanjay, Raveena Tandon and Prakash Raj were among its major new cast members. The sequel did not merely extend Rocky’s story – it turned the Kannada franchise into a nationwide box-office phenomenon. Sacnilk recorded its worldwide gross at a staggering Rs 1,215 crore, including Rs 859.70 crore net in India. Sanjay’s Adheera consequently arrived late but landed in the franchise’s most commercially explosive chapter.
5. Raveena Tandon In ‘KGF Chapter 2’
Raveena Tandon entered the same sequel as Sanjay Dutt, but her character attacked Rocky’s empire from a very different direction. As Ramika Sen, the country’s iron-willed Prime Minister, she brought political power rather than brute force into the conflict. The performance worked because Raveena did not try to compete with the film’s noise; her rigid posture, controlled delivery and unsmiling authority gave the larger-than-life drama a different kind of adversary.
Released on April 14, 2022, ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ was directed by Prashanth Neel and starred Yash, Sanjay Dutt, Srinidhi Shetty, Raveena Tandon and Prakash Raj in its principal ensemble. Raveena had not appeared in 2018’s ‘KGF: Chapter 1’, making Ramika Sen a true second-installment addition rather than a returning character. The gamble paid off spectacularly: Sacnilk reported a worldwide gross of Rs 1,215 crore. The sequel’s success also ensured that both Adheera and Ramika Sen became inseparable from audiences’ memory of the ‘KGF’ saga, despite missing its opening chapter.
6. Akshay Kumar In ‘2.0’
Akshay Kumar did not simply enter the Enthiran franchise in its second film – he became the giant obstacle for Rajinikanth’s Chitti to overcome. In ‘2.0’, Akshay played Pakshi Rajan, an ornithologist whose anguish over the destruction of bird life transforms him into a supernatural, technology-manipulating antagonist. Buried under elaborate prosthetics and visual effects, the Bollywood star embraced a part far removed from his familiar action-comedy zone.
Directed by Shankar, ‘2.0’ was released on November 29, 2018, eight years after ‘Enthiran’. The science-fiction spectacle starred Rajinikanth in multiple avatars, including Dr Vaseegaran and Chitti, alongside Akshay and Amy Jackson. As the second film in the ‘Enthiran’ series, it also marked Akshay’s Tamil debut. Sacnilk listed the film’s worldwide collection at Rs 691 crore, with Rs 407.05 crore net from India.
7. Gulshan Grover In ‘Indian 2’
Nearly three decades after Kamal Haasan’s Senapathy first declared war on corruption in Indian, Shankar revived the vigilante for ‘Indian 2’ – and brought Bollywood’s original “Bad Man” along for the ride. Gulshan Grover appeared as Amit Agarwal, one of the wealthy businessmen who lands on Senapathy’s radar. It was not the film’s largest role, but it was a natural franchise fit for an actor who spent decades turning morally dubious power players into memorable screen figures.
The second installment in the ‘Indian’ series arrived in cinemas on July 12, 2024, 28 years after the 1996 original. Directed by Shankar, it was led by Kamal Haasan and Siddharth, with Rakul Preet Singh, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Bobby Simha, SJ Suryah and Gulshan among its sprawling ensemble. The reunion of Shankar and Kamal came with colossal expectations, but the film received a largely unfavourable response and fell well short of becoming the comeback many anticipated. Sacnilk put its final worldwide gross at Rs 148.90 crore, against an India net collection of Rs 81.39 crore.
8. Abhimanyu Singh In L2 Empuraan
If the definition is widened from marquee Bollywood star to an established actor with a substantial Hindi film career, Abhimanyu Singh deserves the eighth spot. Known to Hindi audiences for films such as ‘Gulaal’, ‘Rakta Charitra’ and ‘Sooryavanshi’, he entered the Malayalam ‘Lucifer’ franchise in its second installment, ‘L2: Empuraan’. As Balraj Patel, also known as Baba Bajrangi, Abhimanyu became a powerful new antagonist in the political landscape threatening Kerala while Mohanlal’s Stephen Nedumpally continued operating on a far more global chessboard.
Directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, ‘L2: Empuraan’ released on March 27, 2025. The second chapter in the planned ‘Lucifer’ series starred Mohanlal, Prithviraj, Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas, Indrajith Sukumaran and Abhimanyu, with Jerome Flynn among the international additions. The film dramatically expanded the scale of the 2019 original and turned that ambition into major business. According to Sacnilk, it grossed Rs 266.81 crore worldwide, including Rs 142.25 crore overseas.
From Akshay Kumar turning into a winged technological nightmare to Sanjay Dutt marching into Kolar as Adheera, the strongest of these additions were never just casting announcements. They altered the balance of an existing world. With Kantha now poised to cross paths with Muthuvel Pandian in ‘Jailer 2’, Vidya Balan has the chance to do exactly the same – and perhaps create one of the sequel’s most talked-about face-offs.
