Amitabh Bachchan began shooting for Ramgopal Varma's 'Sarkar 2' in Hyderabad from today. Varma's spokesman here said the film is being completed in one schedule, spanning 40 days.

'Sarkar 2' is the sequel of Varma's earlier film 'Sarkar' in which Bachchan played a 'Godfather' type character Subhash Nagre.

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai are scheduled to join the shooting soon. The earlier film had Amitabh and Abhishek teaming up for the first time in the role of father and son. Both Big B and Abhishek will play the same characters and the sequel will focus on the new generation, the spokesman said.

He refused to dwell into the details of Aishwarya's character which trade sources say has grey shades. 'Sarkar 2' will be Aishwarya's first film after her high profile marriage to Abhishek in April this year.

She is currently working in Ashutosh Gowarikar's 'Jodha Akbar' with Hrithik Roshan. Their pairing in 'Dhoom 2' was a runaway success.

While her onscreen pair with Abhishek has worked successfully in Mani Ratnam's 'Guru', which was released early this year.

Varma's remake of evergreen 1975 classic 'Sholay' is ready for release on August 31, the spokesman added.