Hiren Kotwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 31, 2019)

Last week, Karan Johar announced that he has acquired the remake rights of the Telugu film, Dear Comrade, featuring Arjun Reddy breakout star Vijay Deverakonda, even before it opened in cinemas on July 26. The actor had responded to the social media post, saying he was looking forward to working with the maker, sparking speculation that the remake could be Vijay’s Bollywood launch.

The film was a hotcake for B-Town producers after Bhushan Kumar and Murad Khetani’s last production, Kabir Singh, the Hindi version of Arjun Reddy, became the year’s big grosser. Buzz is, Bhushan and Murad, along with Sajid Nadiadwala and Vijay Galani, were also keen on a remake but KJo outbid the competition, acquiring the Hindi rights for a reported Rs 6 crore, presumably in anticipation that it will replicate the success of Arjun Reddy.

After watching the Telugu film, KJo had tweeted, “Stunning and powerful love story! With top notch performances and exceptional music... Announcing that @DharmaMovies to remake this beautiful film.” Deverakonda responded, “So proud to have this man, watch, love and be the one to remake our baby #DearComrade in Hindi... @karanjohar biggest hugs, love and respect for you. Can’t wait to do something mad with you...”

However, Sreedhar Pillai, a Chennai-based trade analyst, told Mirror, “The film opened well at the box-office, but hasn’t lived up to the expectations.” This has raised questions about the prospects of the Hindi remake. While Karan remained unavailable for comment, a source close to his production house maintained that the team is going ahead with the project. “Dear Comrade has fared as per the estimation of Karan’s company. They will surely be making the Hindi adaptation as planned,” the source informed.