Akshay Kumar Begins ‘Samuk’ Shoot as Vivaan Ahuja; Alien Thriller Moves From Two-Year Development Into Production

Akshay Kumar has officially begun filming Samuk, moving one of his most unusual upcoming projects from a lengthy development phase into principal photography.

The actor announced the start of filming on August 24, revealing something the film’s earlier publicity had not disclosed: his character is named Vivaan Ahuja.

“New genre. New character. New challenge,” Kumar wrote while announcing that Vivaan Ahuja was “reporting for duty.” The update was accompanied by an on-set glimpse and confirmed that filming had begun.

Directed by Kanishk Varma, Samuk is being developed as a science-fiction survival-action thriller built around an extraterrestrial threat. Vipul Amrutlal Shah is producing the film, with Aashin A Shah also attached to the production. The project is associated with Sunshine Pictures and Cape of Good Films.

What makes the start of filming more significant than a routine “film goes on floors” announcement is the production strategy behind it. The makers have spent more than two years developing the project and are attempting to combine an Indian action framework with creature effects, survival horror and an international stunt team.

What do we know about Akshay Kumar’s character in ‘Samuk’?

For months, the makers had revealed the film’s genre and technical ambitions while keeping Kumar’s character largely under wraps.

That changed with the filming announcement: Vivaan Ahuja is now the confirmed name of Kumar’s character.

There is also an important piece of earlier first-party material that offers considerably more context about the premise.

Sunshine Pictures Limited’s December 2024 Draft Red Herring Prospectus described Samuk, then still in development, as a science-fiction action film involving an elite SPG officer protecting the Indian Prime Minister while confronting both a human threat and a shape-shifting extraterrestrial creature.

The document placed that confrontation around the Romanian-Serbian border and described the project as combining science fiction, supernatural horror, drama and action. At the time, however, the script was still under development and a director had not yet been finalised.

Because that disclosure dates from 2024 well before Kumar’s casting and the current production the synopsis should be treated as an earlier development-stage version of the story rather than a guaranteed description of the finished film. The makers have not publicly confirmed how much of that plot remains unchanged.

That distinction matters. Current promotional material emphasises military realism, alien mythology and survival horror, but has not yet released a full updated synopsis.

‘Samuk’ is taking the practical-effects route

Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Samuk is not simply that Akshay Kumar is fighting an alien. It is how the filmmakers intend to create that alien.

Creature-effects specialist Alec Gillis, whose credits include work connected with the Alien and Predator franchises, has been brought aboard to design the central creature. Reports surrounding the project have repeatedly emphasised the makers’ intention to rely substantially on physical creature work and practical effects rather than building the threat entirely through computer-generated imagery.

Director Kanishk Varma previously explained that he wanted the creature to have a physical presence on set. Gillis, meanwhile, has spoken about the challenge of designing an antagonist capable of matching Kumar’s physical screen presence.

That approach could prove central to the film’s identity.

Vipul Shah has separately said that Samuk is intended to be made in an “old-school” manner with limited VFX, while still operating at the scale expected from a contemporary theatrical creature film.

International stunt team joins Akshay Kumar’s alien thriller

The creature is only one side of Samuk’s technical plan.

British action specialist Luke Tumber is attached to design and direct the film’s action. His international credits include major action productions such as Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, No Time to Die and projects in the Venom franchise.

The combination of Gillis and Tumber gives a clearer picture of what the filmmakers are attempting: rather than treating Samuk purely as a visual-effects-heavy science-fiction film, the production appears designed around physical action interacting with a tangible creature threat.

That is a more specific and potentially more interesting creative proposition than simply calling the film an “alien action spectacle.”

London becomes the centre of the production

Before filming began, Variety India reported that principal photography was scheduled to start in London on August 23, with approximately 90% of the film expected to be shot there and the remaining portion planned for Mumbai.

The production was also expected to proceed largely as one continuous schedule.

The Week subsequently reported on August 24 that filming had indeed commenced in London on August 23.

The London-heavy schedule is particularly interesting when considered alongside Sunshine Pictures’ older corporate disclosure, which placed the film’s extraterrestrial confrontation in the forests around the Romanian-Serbian border. Whether London and other UK locations will double for parts of that setting or whether the screenplay has evolved substantially since 2024 has not been officially clarified.

Akshay Kumar and Vipul Shah reunite after ‘Holiday’

Samuk also revives one of the more varied actor-filmmaker partnerships in Akshay Kumar’s career.

Kumar and Vipul Shah have previously collaborated across Aankhen (2002), Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005), Namastey London (2007), Singh Is Kinng (2008), Action Replayy (2010) and Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (2014).

Samuk becomes their seventh film together.

The significance is not merely the reunion. Their previous collaborations moved between thriller, family drama, romance, comedy and action. Shah has specifically pointed to that history while explaining why the pair wanted to avoid repeating themselves with Samuk.

Speaking earlier about developing the project, Shah said the original idea came from Kanishk Varma and that the screenplay took approximately two years to develop. He also described Kumar as deeply involved in discussions around the film.

With shooting now underway, Shah has characterised the new collaboration as their biggest challenge yet and said the ambition throughout his association with Kumar has been to push each other towards something bigger.

When will ‘Samuk’ release?

An exact theatrical release date has not been announced.

Vipul Shah said in June that the team was planning a 2027 release, while the film has consistently been positioned as a theatrical project.

Until the production house announces a specific date, however, any more precise release claim should be treated as provisional.

The complete supporting cast also remains under wraps.

The Celebrity Hour Take

The most interesting thing about Samuk is not the claim that it is entering territory rarely explored by mainstream Hindi cinema. The real test will be whether its production choices make that genre experiment convincing.

A practical creature designed to physically interact with actors, military-oriented action and an international stunt unit give the film a different technical foundation from a science-fiction production built predominantly around post-production spectacle.

There is also evidence that the project has evolved considerably.

Sunshine Pictures’ 2024 corporate disclosure already contained the core ingredients an SPG officer, political danger and an extraterrestrial creature but at that stage the script was still being developed and no director had been finalised. Nearly two years later, Kanishk Varma is directing, Akshay Kumar is playing Vivaan Ahuja, international creature and action specialists have joined, and principal photography is underway.

That development trail makes Samuk more than a sudden genre experiment attached to a major star. It is a project whose central concept existed well before Kumar’s casting and has subsequently been built around him.

The next revealing update will therefore not simply be another casting announcement. An official synopsis or first look at Gillis’ creature would show how much of Samuk’s original SPG-versus-extraterrestrial premise has survived the journey from development document to shooting script.

Sources & Verification

This report was prepared using Akshay Kumar’s August 24 filming announcement, Sunshine Pictures’ earlier corporate prospectus describing Samuk while it was in development, publicly reported statements from producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah and director Kanishk Varma, and reporting on the film’s London production schedule and international technical team.

The Celebrity Hour treated the 2024 prospectus synopsis as historical development material rather than automatically assuming every plot element remains in the current screenplay. The confirmed current details Kumar playing Vivaan Ahuja, Kanishk Varma directing, filming having commenced, and the involvement of the international creature/action team were cross-checked against newer material.