Tue, Jul 15 12:25 AM
Another Bollywood classic is set for a remake. This time it's Manmohan Desai's mad, fun, fabulous multi-starrer Amar Akbar Anthony.
That full-on masala movie - which had everything from brothers separated in their childhood to a mother going blind, then miraculously regaining her sight, and even a character called Zebisco - will now become a David Dhawan film. It will feature Salman, Arbaaz and Sohail Khan in the roles respectively made famous by Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor.
Ramesh Taurani of Tips Films says he has been toying with the idea of remaking Amar Akbar Anthony for years with the Khan brothers. And now it's reality.
"I've always loved the subject. It's the perfect entertainer.
I am sure it's going to turn out really well as the audience craves such a subject." Taurani reveals that the film will go on the floors early next year, but refuses to divulge its budget.
"It's too early to talk about it," he says. But the buzz is that Salman has asked for Rs 50 crore.
Taurani laughs that off. "You know in the media anyone can circulate any price.
This has become a practice." Taurani has set himself the difficult task - like Ram Gopal Varma - of remaking a classic.
Despite the fact that RGV's version of Sholay was universally reviled, other filmmakers are still trying. Karan Johar is remaking Dostana and the T-Series brothers Krishan and Bhushan Kumar are working on the reincarnation drama, Karz.
Dostana, directed by Tarun Mansukhani, has a story similar to that of the Amitabh Bachchan-Shatrughan Sinha-Zeenat Aman starrer from the 1980s. The new version has John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra.
Himesh Reshammiya's Karzzzz takes off from Subhash Ghai's version, but with a twist. The movie directed by Satish Kaushik, stars Urmila Matondkar; Himesh plays Rishi Kapoor's role.
Taurani refutes the suggestion that Bollywood has a shortage of original scripts. "That's not true.
We do work on original scripts. But there are certain films that fascinate you and you feel like trying to revive the magic.
" Producer-director Ravi Chopra doesn't believe the magic can be revived. "Remakes of classics are bound to lack the essence of the original.
A classic film cannot be remade.".
