Kartik Aaryan to Lead Vivek Agnihotri’s Operation Sindoor

Kartik Aaryan is adding a new register to his slate. The actor will lead Operation Sindoor, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s real-events drama based on Lieutenant General K J S ‘Tiny’ Dhillon’s book Operation Sindoor: The Untold Story of India’s Deep Strikes Inside Pakistan. The news, first reported by Variety India, marks the first collaboration between the star and the director known for The Tashkent Files, The Kashmir Files, The Vaccine War and The Bengal Files.

A military story built on research

Agnihotri announced the project in March, describing it as a story rooted in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. In a statement, he said the film had been developed with “extensive, ground-level research in collaboration with multiple wings of the Indian Armed Forces.” The title comes from India’s military operation that followed the April 2025 Pahalgam attack.

Rather than a conventional star vehicle, Operation Sindoor sits inside Agnihotri’s signature zone: real events, research-heavy storytelling, and cinema that wants to confront more than distract. That makes Kartik’s casting a genuine swing.

Where it fits into Kartik’s crowded calendar

Kartik will begin work on Operation Sindoor after he finishes Captain India, the Shimit Amin-directed film set against the Houthi conflict in Yemen. Captain India is currently in production, so the new film does not have a release date yet, and no other cast has been announced.

The project is backed by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series and Agnihotri’s I Am Buddha Productions. For fans, the combination means a big commercial banner and a director who has repeatedly turned politically charged subjects into box-office conversations.

What else is on the way

Kartik’s slate is packed. Next up is Naagzilla, a creature feature directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba that arrives in theatres on 12 February 2027; it also marks the Hindi debut of Preity Mukhundhan. After that, he reunites with Sreeleela in an untitled Anurag Basu musical romance produced by Bhushan Kumar, slated for 30 April 2027.

Farther out, Kartik is attached to a Kabir Khan-directed biographical sports drama on Kashmiri kickboxer Tajamul Islam, co-produced by Applause Entertainment and Kartik’s newly launched banner Dopamine Studios. The pipeline also includes Bhool Bhulaiyaa 4 and Kaaliya.

• First collaboration between Kartik Aaryan and Vivek Agnihotri
• Based on Lt Gen K J S Dhillon’s book on India’s deep strikes
• Shoot begins after Captain India wraps

For those tracking Kartik’s evolution, Operation Sindoor is the headline: a star who has built his brand on comedies, horror-comedy and romance stepping into a director’s factual, high-stakes world. Whether it becomes another Agnihotri talking point or a wider blockbuster will depend on the treatment, the cast around him and the release plan, details that are still under wraps.

Source: India Today