Banita Sandhu joins Akshay Kumar's Samuk as an environmentalist

Banita Sandhu has joined the cast of Samuk, the sci-fi action-survival thriller starring Akshay Kumar. Kanishk Varma is directing the film, and Sandhu has a key role in it.

She plays a British-born Indian environmentalist who gets pulled into a mission she was never meant to be part of. The makers have said little more than that. They are keeping the plot and every actor's character tightly under wraps.

Vipul Amrutlal Shah is producing Samuk under his Sunshine Pictures banner, with Aashin A. Shah as co-producer. The project reunites Shah and Akshay after more than a decade, and it is being made on a large scale for the big screen. Filming is under way in London.

The ensemble already includes Rukmini Maitra, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rajat Kapoor and Swanand Kirkire. Sandhu, whose career spans Hindi films and international work, adds to that mix.

Her debut came in Shoojit Sircar's October, and she went on to appear in Sardar Udham and Main Vaapas Aaunga. She has also featured in the international series Bridgerton.