Also featuring Vikram Gokhale, the Marathi film is going on the floors today in Mumbai
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 21, 2019)

After the success of Badla, Amitabh Bachchan has at least half-a-dozen films in his kitty that will keep him busy for the next two years. What makes the line-up interesting is that after nearly five decades in showbiz, the veteran actor is now all set to make his Marathi film debut with Milind Lele’s AB Aani CD. Today, the Big B starts shooting for the film with Vikram Gokhale, who plays his fellow protagonist, in Mumbai.

Prod producer Akshay Bardapurkar on the quirky title and he explains, “AB is of course, Amitabh Bachchan and CD is Chandrakant Deshpande, enacted by Vikram Gokhale. Mr Bachchan plays himself, a superstar in his 70s. Vikram ji’s character’s family is planning a bash for his 75th birthday in this family comedy, which encompasses the journey of the leads who have known each other for well over six decades.”

It will be shot in a month-long, start-to-finish schedule in Pune from the first week of June. “We wrap up by mid-July and are planning to release the film in December,” Akshay adds.

Ask the producer if it was difficult to convince Bachchan to give his nod to a Marathi film and he says the problem was not the actor but his dates. “I narrated the script to him two months ago. He loved it and on Vikram Gokhale’s request, immediately accepted the film as he has not ventured into this territory before. But we have to rush to get this done now because after July, he is not free for the next six months,” Akshay informs.

Are there plans to release the film in Hindi? “At this point, it’s only going to be in Marathi. May be at a later stage, we could consider remaking it in Hindi,” he signs off.

In 1994, Bachchan made a special appearance in the Marathi film Akka. He returns to the industry in a full-fledged role after 25 years.