Cast of Son of Sardaar 2: Full List, Roles & Changes

Thirteen years after the original Son of Sardaar hit theatres, Ajay Devgn is back in the franchise—but not everyone from the first film returned for the sequel. The 2025 comedy brought in fresh faces, lost a couple of familiar ones to logistics, and landed in theatres on 1 August 2025 after a brief postponement. Here’s a complete breakdown of who made it to the screen and who didn’t.

Lead Actor: Ajay Devgn as Jassi Randhawa ·
Female Lead: Mrunal Thakur as Rabia Akhtar ·
Key Supporting: Ravi Kishan as Raja Sandhu ·
Release Year: 2025 ·
Director: Vijay Kumar Arora

“It doesn’t affect me,” Sonakshi Sinha reportedly said when asked about not returning for the sequel, indicating the decision was a straightforward career choice rather than a conflict.

“Trust was shaken” after being paired opposite someone she considered a senior in the industry, Mrunal Thakur mentioned in interviews, suggesting her role required some persuasion before she committed.

Who is the new girl in Son of Sardaar 2?

The most visible new face in the sequel belongs to Mrunal Thakur, who takes on the role of Rabia Akhtar. Unlike the original film, which paired Ajay Devgn’s character with Dimple (played by Neeru Bajwa), Son of Sardaar 2 introduces Rabia as a central figure with her own storyline. Wikipedia confirms Thakur plays the female lead opposite Devgn.

Behind the casting decision reportedly lay a trust issue. According to interviews, Mrunal Thakur mentioned that “trust was shaken” after being paired opposite someone she considered a senior in the industry, suggesting the role required some persuasion before she committed. The result is a performance that anchors much of the sequel’s emotional thread.

Roshni Walia profile

Roshni Walia plays Saba/Simran, the daughter of Danish and Zeenat. Her character serves as the catalyst for one of the film’s central plot devices—Jassi and Rabia cook up an elaborate scheme where Jassi pretends to be a retired war hero to help Saba win approval for her marriage to Goggi.

• Character: Saba/Simran (Danish and Zeenat’s daughter)
• Role significance: Drives the fake-war-hero subplot
• Source: Wikipedia

Her role details

Roshni Walia’s character is woven into the film’s family dynamics. Her storyline connects multiple generations of characters, tying back to the extended Randhawa and Sandhu families established in the prequel’s universe. The narrative thread she carries—Saba’s pursuit of parental blessing for her marriage—gives the fake-war-hero deception its emotional stakes.

Is Elvish Yadav cast in Son of Sardaar 2?

Elvish Yadav’s name circulated in fan discussions ahead of the film’s release, partly due to his popularity as a YouTube creator turned actor. However, checking the verified cast list against IMDb shows no credit for Yadav in the actual film. Wikipedia’s cast listing includes no appearance by him.

The confusion likely stems from two sources: fan-generated wish lists and the broader trend of YouTubers crossing into mainstream Bollywood. Neither official announcements nor credible film databases place Yadav in the production.

For viewers researching the actual cast, the lesson is straightforward: rely on IMDb or Wikipedia rather than social media speculation, which often amplifies wishful thinking into perceived fact. The verified credits show a 17-person cast with no room for Yadav.

Elvish Yadav background

Elvish Yadav gained fame as a content creator on YouTube, producing comedy sketches and vlogs. His transition to acting included appearances in reality shows and web series, making him a recognizable name in the Indian digital entertainment space.

Casting rumors status

At present, the rumors remain unfounded. The confirmed cast list is exhaustive enough that a significant role would have surfaced in official credits or media reports. Anyone researching the film’s actual cast should rely on IMDb or Wikipedia rather than social media speculation.

Why is Sanjay Dutt not in Son of Sardaar 2?

Sanjay Dutt played a pivotal role in the 2012 original, and he was initially meant to reprise his character in the sequel. According to Wikipedia’s production notes, Dutt’s inability to participate came down to a bureaucratic problem: his UK visa was rejected.

Since a significant portion of Son of Sardaar 2 filmed in Edinburgh and London, the visa rejection effectively made it impossible for Dutt to join the production schedule. This forced the filmmakers to either recast the character or write around his absence entirely.

Original casting info

The original Son of Sardaar featured Sanjay Dutt as a core member of the ensemble. His character—Ranjit Singh—appeared in key scenes spanning the film’s first half and comedic sequences that resonated with audiences.

Reasons for exit

The UK visa rejection left no room for alternatives. Unlike scheduling conflicts that might be worked around, a visa denial blocks physical presence on set. Wikipedia explicitly cites this as the reason for his exit from the project.

Why is there no Sonakshi in Son of Sardaar 2?

Sonakshi Sinha appeared in the 2012 original, and her absence from the sequel required no elaborate explanation—she simply moved on. When asked about not returning for the follow-up, Sinha reportedly said “It doesn’t affect me,” indicating the decision was a straightforward career choice rather than a conflict.

The sequel’s new creative direction, which leans on the Turkish source film Aile Arasında (2017) as its narrative foundation, also meant some original characters had no direct equivalent in the new story structure.

Sonakshi Sinha comments

Her response to questions about skipping the sequel was notably dismissive—a signal that the role in question held no particular emotional or professional weight for her at this stage of her career.

Replacement details

The new female lead, Mrunal Thakur, essentially occupies a different narrative position than Sinha’s character did in the original. Rather than replacing Sinha’s role directly, Thakur’s Rabia Akhtar represents a fresh creation built for the sequel’s specific storyline.

For Devgn, the revolving-door casting meant building chemistry from scratch with every new scene partner—a challenge that showed in the final product’s reception.

Is Son of Sardar Part 2 hit or flop?

The film released on 1 August 2025, a week after its originally scheduled date of 25 July 2025. According to available reports, Son of Sardaar 2 received mixed to negative reviews from critics and performed poorly at the box office.

The word “disaster” appears in coverage of the film’s commercial performance. While exact box office figures are not detailed in available sources, the consensus is clear: the film did not succeed commercially.

Release status

The film is officially released. It completed its theatrical run, with the 1 August 2025 date marking the end of its postponed schedule. Anyone looking for current showtimes will find the film past its theatrical window.

Performance predictions

Pre-release expectations were muted at best. The combination of a long gap since the original (2012), changed cast dynamics, and the adaptation of foreign source material created uncertainty about audience reception. The final result confirmed those doubts were warranted.

Full cast breakdown

The ensemble spans established Bollywood names, veteran character actors, and a posthumous appearance from Mukul Dev. The table below lists each actor alongside their character and role classification.

The supporting cast brings together actors with extensive Hindi cinema experience. Sanjay Mishra, known for roles in films like Masaan, plays the father figure Bantu Pandey. Chunky Panday, a recurring presence in comedy films, takes on Danish—a widower whose relationship with Rabia sets up part of the sequel’s romantic complications.

The implication for Devgn is that while the cast depth looks impressive on paper, the absence of original franchise anchors (Dutt, Sinha) and the reliance on a foreign-source storyline ultimately diluted what made the 2012 film resonate with audiences.

Production details

Principal photography began in Edinburgh in July 2024, according to Wikipedia’s production timeline. The shoot stretched across 50 days, taking place in three primary locations: Edinburgh, London, and Chandigarh, India.

Vijay Kumar Arora directed the film, a name less immediately recognizable than some of the cast. Ajay Devgn also served as a producer alongside Jyoti Deshpande, N.R. Pachisia, and Pravin Talreja through AJAY DEVGN FFilms and Legend Studios.

Filming locations

The Scottish and English backdrops serve a narrative purpose—much of the film’s plot revolves around family acceptance and cultural expectations that play out against a diaspora setting. Edinburgh’s architecture reportedly provided the visual framework for key scenes.

Source material adaptation

The film adapts the 2017 Turkish comedy Aile Arasında, which itself follows a man who pretends to be a war hero to help a young couple win parental approval. Son of Sardaar 2 transplants this premise into an Indian context, with Jassi assuming the deception role and Rabia posing as his wife to help Saba marry Goggi.

What this means for viewers expecting a direct continuation of the 2012 film: the narrative borrowed from the Turkish source introduces an entirely different story structure, which may explain why audiences expecting the original formula felt disconnected from the sequel.

The verdict on the sequel

The gap between 2012 and 2025 proved longer than the creative team could bridge. The absence of Sanjay Dutt removed a recognizable anchor, the new female lead required building chemistry from scratch, and the adapted storyline didn’t land with audiences or critics. Wikipedia’s assessment—”mixed to negative reviews” and “box office disaster”—captures the outcome in straightforward terms.

For fans of the original who waited 13 years, the sequel offered a familiar face (Ajay Devgn) but a fundamentally different formula. The result is a film that functions as a standalone comedy but falls short as a continuation of what made the first Son of Sardaar resonate.

Ajay Devgn reprises Jassi Randhawa over a decade later, with the release date and cast guide detailing production anticipation and full cast alongside key updates like Sanjay Dutt’s absence.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Wikipedia (Son of Sardaar 2) — Primary source for cast, production timeline, and film overview
• IMDb (tt29429860) — Official cast credits and film registration
• Wikipedia (Son of Sardaar, 2012) — Original film for comparison and cast reference

For readers exploring similar cast evolution stories, the Cast of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 – Returning Stars and New Faces offers a comparable analysis of franchise casting decisions. Similarly, Ça (2017) Distribution: Complete Cast and Voice Actors examines how ensemble casts adapt across sequels in different cultural contexts.