As 'Simmba' completes 3 years, here's a look at films of Rohit Shetty's cop universe

18 years ago, Rohit Shetty had made his debut as a director with the action film Zameen, which involved police, an operation to thwart a terrorist operation, Armymen and investigations. The filmmaker took a U-turn of sorts with his next film, Golmaal Fun Unlimited, the success of which made him an overnight star. He continued to make comedies over the next four years and attained further success in the genre. 

In 2011, Shetty decided to return once again to the debut film's action-thriller genre involving cops, and not many would have imagined that it would set off a Cop Universe, the first such in Bollywood. The journey has lasted 10 years and 4 films. As the third film of the Universe, Simmba, completed three years on Tuesday, here's looking at the films in Rohit Shetty's cop universe:

Singham (2011)

Rohit Shetty-Ajay Devgn's partnership ventured into the action space for the first time for this film, which was a remake of the Tamil film of the same name. The plot of the venture revolved around cop Bajirao Singham taking on a corrupt politician, played by Prakash Raj in Goa.

Ajay's dialogues like 'Aata Majhi Satakli', as well as the action sequences, including Rohit Shetty's trademark car sequences, became a rage among audiences. The film was a success at the box office, entering the Rs 100-crore club. 

Singham Returns (2014)

Three years after the success of Singham, Bajirao Singham returned, with the action now set in Mumbai. This time, he has to battle a dangerous godman, played by Amole Gupte. This film too displayed the smart moves that the cop uses to get back at 'Babaji' and stall his plans.

There were numerous one-liners and trademark action sequences in this one too, and that was loved by the audiences. The film took one of the best opening day figures of that time with over Rs 30 crore on Day 1, ending as a successful film with Rs 140 crore collections. 

Simmba (2018)

Rohit Shetty introduced a new cop character, Sangram Bhalerao aka Simmba, played by Ranveer Singh, in the universe in this film. The action was once again set in Goa like it was for Singham.

The plot revolved around a cop, known for taking bribes, having a change of heart following a tragedy involving a known person. He vows to take on a drug dealer, played by Sonu Sood, whom he was friends with before. The highlight of the venture was the appearance of Singham, and a new cop character, Sooryavanshi, played by Akshay Kumar, that hinted for the first time that it was a 'universe,'

Simmba was an even higher grosser than the Singham franchise, grossing Rs 240 crore at the box office. 

Sooryavanshi (2021)

The speculation on the 'Universe' was confirmed, when it was announced that Sooryavanshi will get a film of his own. The plot traced the cop, the chief of ATS, battling a terror plot in Mumbai, and taking help of the other two cops, Singham and Simmba. The film again had some high-octane action scenes, going a level higher with helicopter stunts and more.

Despite a one-and-a-half year release delay due to COVID-19 pandemic, the film was successful at the box office, earning over Rs 190 crore at the box office, by far the most successful pandemic release.

Singham 3 

There are reports doing the rounds that the next movie in the Universe will be Singham 3. However, there is no official word on it yet. Rohit will reportedly shoot the cop action film after the work on Ranveer Singh starrer Cirkus.