Two days before the cinema release of the so called Sholay remake Ram Gopal Verma Ki Aag, Pritish Nandy Communications have announced that they have obtained the rights to the original version and will be making the legit remake of the flick. Not only that but we will see a prequel, sequel, and an aminated version… a total of 4 films. This will mean Sholay will become a franchise.
PNC will commence work on the animated version within weeks and plans have already been put into motion for the live action remake. The prequel and sequel will be produced after the remake has been released. This will mean that for the first time in Indian film history, four films will be made from one original classic. Many industry insiders are predicting the Sholay films to be on par with Hollywood trilogy Lord Of The Rings.
PNC have announced that they will be spending in excess of $100m US on these four movies, so the question I ask you is… who will be approached and signed for the pivotal roles? Let’s look into it deeper…
Before PNC approach any actors they need a director… and one that can direct three films and keep the pace active. They require someone who can do justice to the original and give the remake a flavour of it’s own. So who can that be? Who would be willing to stake their career on this? Because let’s face it, if he or she makes a flubber of this… they probably won’t get any work ever again. Saying that… if he or she makes it work and the movies click with the audiences, then they will go down in Bollywood history as the greatest director ever. I keep writing he or she, but am 99% sure that the director will be a he. I really don’t expect Farah Khan directing the three masala movies, do you? As you would expect the films would be action entertainers, then it would be feasible to use a director who is proven in this genre… and only one person comes to mind… Dhoom director Sanjay Gadhvi. Sanjay has the ability to direct a collection of actors, which is what would be required here, and he has it on file that he can last more than one film. Dhoom and Dhoom 2 both proved to be blockbusters. Sanjay Gadhvi would be my only choice.
As for the actors… well this is the tough part… get this right, and providing you have a super tight script, you have a certified hit. Now it’s for certain that the actors used in RGV Ki Aag will not be used, and the actors of the original have either passed away or are now of old age, then who? Well I am pretty sure that neither Bobby Deol or Abhishek Bachchan will be used, PNC would not want to do that… revist the old with the ’sperm’ of the old… sorry for the pun. And as PNC have a budget of over $100m US, they probably would go with some big names. Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan would not touch a product like this, for fear of burning their images. Salman Khan is also a no-no as he has too many personal problems at the moment and might become a liability. For the role of Veeru, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan come to mind. Both these actors have a comedic edge to them and can also perform action scenes. And of course both actors get a good Box Office turnout. Being from Punjab, Akshay Kumar might just nab this role… I would offer it to him. As for Jai, well this is difficult… there are not that many actors around with stamina and gut acting… If you have Akshay Kumar as Veeru then you need someone equally as good for the role of Jai. You require someone who can play off Akshay’s acting and take some of the accolades. There is only actor that comes to mind for this role and that is another Akshay… well Akshaye Khanna. He isn’t as big as anyone else… but he has that deep look in his eyes to pull of the role of Jai… and I am sure his chemistery with Akshay Kumar will be electric. Akshaye Khanna has a good track record in big budget films, and will do well here.
Basanti and Radha are two roles that can be casted very easily. For Radha there is only one actress that can be picked and that is Katrina Kaif. She has come a long way since the debacle of Boom and is currently flourishing in hit after hit. She has a charming smile and beautiful facial complexion, and is the apt candidate for the ill-gotten sufferer Radha. The Basanti role can also be casted very easily… you need beauty and charm… you need sexy and vocalised… and you need an actress that can play opposite Akshay Kumar’s Veeru… who else but Bipasha Basu. The Bengal babe has the acting skills to become the new age Dream Girl, if she isn’t one already.
Thakur Baldev Singh… well what can you say about this. An actor that can seriously act meaty and one that can match scene for scene with the above actors. I believe a character actor needs to be used for this role… but not any character actor… one that has been a mainstream hero and one that can still act. Now my choice might amaze some readers, but I believe this person is the ideal actor to play Thakur. Jackie Shroff can ignite the screen with his mere precence, and with the actor that I have picked as Gabbar Singh, Jackie Shroff will become more appropriate for the role.
Now the pivotal role of Gabbar Singh, the character that was the spirit of the original Sholay, and one which Amjad Khan acted out of his skin as. I think it is time to bring in an established actor, one actor that can show the sensitive and evil side of Gabbar Singh. Do keep in mind that we will have a prequel and sequel, so we need someone relatively young… we also need someone who can look good against all the other actors… and for the role of Gabbar Singh… the eventual scene stealer. Providing he gets out of his current predicament, our very own Munna Bhai Sanjay Dutt is my choice.
Those are the main actors… and these are just my choices and the ones that I would choose. I am pretty sure none of these actors will be chosen, and knowing PNC they will probably cast Aftab Shivdasani as Jai, Fardeen Khan as Veeru, Esha Deol as Basanti, Amisha Patel as Radha, Irrfan Khan as Thakur, and Rahul Bose as Gabbar Singh.
But I would like your thoughts too… what do you think of my choices and who would you cast… leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
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I enjoyed your choice of actors for the remake. Made a lot of sense!
Though all the names specified are suited perfectly to the role..I think katrina will suit perfectly.As for the basanti’s role,i think bips wouldnt be able to carry of the role at all.The only person who could is Rani Mukherjee,given her amazing potrayal of Babli in bnb,and this role requires a lot of grace,charm and effervescene which only Rani has.
SHAHRUKH would not act in a remake as it woud burn his image????
What happened in DON..?
and knowing PNC they will probably cast Aftab Shivdasani as Jai, Fardeen Khan as Veeru, Esha Deol as Basanti, Amisha Patel as Radha, Irrfan Khan as Thakur, and Rahul Bose as Gabbar Singh.
i totally agree with this, and i thikn this should be the cast
ajay as gabar!
salman as veru.
askhay as jai!!!!
esha as basanty
shilpa as baho!
thakur by……. amitabh buchpan
*SALMAN = JAI (ACTION, EMOTION, BODY)
*GOVINDA = VEERU (GOOD COMIC TIMMING)
*PRIETY OR ESHA OR RANI = BASANTI
*KATRINA = RADHA (QUITE, NO LANGUAGE NEEDED)
*IRFAN KHAN OR GULSHAN GROVER = GABBAR
(UNEXPECTED)
*Jackie Shroff OR RISHI KAPOOR = THAKUR
Wowwwwww…. what a casting!! Hats off to u Mr. Tony, that sounds just apt and sensible. And yes Gadhvi would definitely make a good series provided he avoids giving in to d skin-show thingy that he loves!
SHARUKH AS VEERU
SAIF ALI KHAN AS JAI
RANI MUKERJEE AS BASANTI
LARA DUTTA AS RADHA
ANIL KAPOOR AS THAKUR AND SANJAY DUTT AS GABBAR !
ABHISHEK – Jai
AKSHAY – Veeru
NANA PATEKAR – Gabbar
ANIL KAPOOR – Thakur
SHILPA – Radha
RANI – Basanti