‘Mardaani 3’ trailer: Rani Mukerji as Shivani Shivaji Roy locks horns with ruthless mafia queen ‘Amma’ to hunt for missing girls

On January 12, 2026, Yash Raj Films unveiled the highly anticipated trailer for Mardaani 3, a release that doubled as a celebration of Rani Mukerji’s 30th year in the Indian film industry. In this third installment, the fearless Shivani Shivaji Roy (now with the National Investigation Agency – NIA) faces what is being described as her “darkest and most brutal” mission yet.

The plot centers on a terrifying epidemic of disappearances, with the trailer revealing that 93 young girls (mostly between the ages of 8 and 11) have vanished within a mere three months. Unlike the previous films, where Shivani battled male sociopaths, the primary antagonist here is a woman—the ruthless and calculated “Amma,” played by veteran theater and film actress Mallika Prasad. Amma operates a sinister “beggar mafia” that exploits abducted children, turning them into tools for a cold, heartless business empire.

A New Standard for the Franchise

Directed by Abhiraj Minawala (who takes over from Gopi Puthran), the trailer suggests a shift toward a grittier, more atmospheric style of filmmaking, which some viewers have compared to the realism of Delhi Crime. The stakes are higher than ever, as Shivani must navigate a labyrinthine crime ring while racing against a ticking clock to save the 93 missing girls. The film also features Janaki Bodiwala (known for Shaitaan) in a pivotal role. Produced by Aditya Chopra, the project has been fast-tracked and preponed from its original February slot to a new global release date of January 30, 2026.

The trailer has already sparked intense discussion online, with many praising the casting of a non-conventional, older female villain like Mallika Prasad, whose “Amma” is portrayed as an almost invincible force of evil. Rani Mukerji has described the film as an “edge-of-the-seat thriller” that refuses to shy away from the horrific realities of child trafficking, promising a bloody and violent confrontation between Shivani’s unwavering morality and Amma’s predatory greed.

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