Anirban Das (MID-DAY; April 6, 2016)

That Amitabh Bachchan is a part of Aankhen 2 — a sequel to Gaurang Doshi’s 2002 film — has been doing the industry rounds for the longest time. However, we hear that the script had not been shared with the superstar until yesterday. Sources claim Big B, who starred in the original film, was briefed about his role after he invited Anees Bazmee over for a narration, something that the director had long been waiting for.

Says a source, “Bazmee is convinced that Bachchan fits one of the lead roles perfectly and therefore, had been pursuing him since months. In fact, the narration that took place at Bachchan’s house on Tuesday was actually slated to happen a day earlier. However, at the last minute, he informed Bazmee that he was busy with some other commitment and gave him another date.”

The director had apparently done a lot of prepping for the narration session to convince Sr Bachchan about the film. “The role has been written keeping Big B and his personality in mind. So, it is important to have him on board. Plans to take the film on floors and other details will be taken care of only after Bachchan signs on the dotted lines,” adds the source.

When we contacted Bazmee for details, he said, “I can’t talk about it right now.”

Aankhen was the directorial debut of Vipul Shah and starred Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Bipasha Basu, Sushmita Sen and Paresh Rawal apart from Bachchan.

However, producer Doshi reportedly had a fallout with Shah during the making. They parted acrimoniously and the sequel was shrouded in uncertainty for years. Bazmee was then roped in to helm part two of Aankhen. Interestingly, Bazmee had also had a fallout with Shah during the making of Singh Is Kinng (2008).