With Salman Khan aka Chulbul Pandey’s cameo in Singham Again, Rohit Shetty ushers in a NEW ERA of cross-licensing in a cinematic universe

We've been hearing for weeks that Salman Khan will play Chulbul Pandey, his famous Dabangg character, in the big Diwali movie Singham Again. And today, when it finally happened, people were overjoyed to see their favorite superstar make a brief cameo. The cameo is significant because it marks the beginning of a new era for film universes.

Rohit Shetty, the overseer of Singham Once more, was the first to begin this pattern in Bollywood when he presented Ajay Devgn's appearance also known as Bajirao Singham in Ranveer Singh-starrer Simmba (2018). The Rohit Shetty Cop Universe was created as a result of it. Then, Yash Raj Films (YRF) launched the YRF Spy Universe with Hrithik Roshan's Kabir from War (2019), Salman Khan's Tiger, and Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan. The horror-comedy universe was also created by Dinesh Vijan, whose films include Stree (2018), Bhediya (2022), Munjya (2024), and Stree 2 (2024).

The fact that the creators chose characters from their own banners is what unites all of these movie universes. To avoid copyright and intellectual property issues and complexities, no one attempted to include characters created by a different banner.

However, Rohit Shetty has demonstrated the possibility of such a thing. Arbaaz Khan Films owns the Dabangg film series, and none of the Singham Again producers own the film's intellectual property. As a result, the cross-licensing of Singham Again is a truly historic event.

This move by Rohit will undoubtedly inspire a great number of other producers to collaborate with him so that their beloved characters can collaborate with him and produce hungama at the box office. The addition of Salman Khan to the Rohit Shetty Cop Universe increases the universe's standing even further. It is something beyond fan administration; It is a partnership that could alter the storytelling, marketing, and licensing strategies of Indian cinema and change the industry. The next chapter in this universe is eagerly anticipated by fans.