With Shahenshah, Satte Pe Satta, among others, B’wood ready for new wave of Bachchan remakes
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 14, 2020)

After Don, Agneepath, Zanjeer and Sholay, among others, 2.0 versions of several yesteryear hits featuring Amitabh Bachchan are under consideration. An industry source tells Mirror that Tinnu Anand, who directed the 1988 vigilante-drama Shahenshah, has been approached by many for the remake rights of the film. “He is yet to part with them. Another one of his directorials, Kaalia, is also a strong contender, with a lot of industry insiders keen to put a modern-day spin on the action-entertainer,” informs the source.

Meanwhile, we hear negotiations are underway for the rights of Prakash Mehra’s 1982 comic-caper, Namak Halaal, which featured the Big B, Shashi Kapoor and Smita Patil. “It’s a timeless comedy and multiple producers are in talks. If the deal is locked, one of them is looking to approach a top actor-star kid, whose forte is comedy, to step into Bachchan’s shoes,” the source shares.

Bhushan Kumar had announced a remake of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Dharmendra and Bachchan-starrer classic, Chupke Chupke, with Rajkummar Rao as botany professor Parimal Tripathi, who masquerades as chauffeur Pyare Mohan to hoodwink his wife’s (Sharmila Tagore) protective brother-in-law (Om Prakash). The actor, who will step into Bachchan’s shoes to play literature professor, Sukumar Sinha, is yet undecided.

Rohit Shetty is bank-rolling a Satte Pe Satta remake, with Farah Khan in the director’s chair. The 1982 original was top-lined by Bachchan in a double role—as Ravi Anand, who lives with his six brothers, and the antagonist, Babu. Farah was keen to have Hrithik Roshan step in for the Big B for the second time after Agneepath. After several rounds of discussions, the actor walked out, reportedly due to differences over the script. The director then approached Salman Khan, who was skeptical about playing a character previously essayed by the veteran actor. Buzz is, the makers are now in talks with Ajay Devgn for the part.

“It’s challenging to get such a huge ensemble in place. An official update on the film is expected once the Coronavirus pandemic subsides,” adds the source.
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OTHER REMAKES

SHAKTI
A few years ago, a filmmaker was planning a remake with Bachchan Sr. playing DCP Ashwini Kumar, originally portrayed by Dilip Kumar, and Abhishek Bachchan stepping in to play the son, Vijay Kumar. Sanjay Gupta was to direct the film which was shelved before reaching the rewrite stage.

DO AUR DO PAANCH
In the 2010s, Vashu Bhagnani was planning to revamp the Rakesh Kumar-directed comedy, which also featured Shashi Kapoor, Hema Malini and Parveen Babi. After the success of Karan Johar’s Dostana, the producer approached John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan but the film, to be directed by debutant Akshai Puri, never saw the light of day.