Shree Narayan Singh working on adaptation of 1982 film
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 19, 2020)

Mirror had earlier reported (April 14) that some of Amitabh Bachchan’s popular hits, including Chupke Chupke, Kaalia, Shahenshah and Namak Halaal were up for a remake with younger actors stepping into Big B’s shoes. We have now learnt that another Bachchan film has joined this list, Ramesh Sippy’s 1982 action-crime drama Shakti, which revolved around a father-son duo, and is the only film to have featured Dilip Kumar as DCP Ashwini Kumar and Senior Bachchan as Vijay Kumar, together.

“Around 10 years ago, the idea of a remake had come up with Amitabh stepping in for Dilip Kumar as the father who, in his commitment to the force, alienates his only son, who is then caught in the crossfire between two warring gangsters. But eventually, he loses his life to a bullet from his father’s gun. Abhishek Bachchan was to play Vijay then. The project, which was put on the backburner, is on track again, but with a different team,” reveals a source close to the development, adding that Shree Narayan Singh, who has directed films like Toilet - Ek Prem Katha and Batti Gul Meter Chalu, wants to revisit the classic which bagged four Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Actor (Dilip Kumar), Best Editing and Best Screenplay.

Confirming the same, Singh says, “I have been working on the film for the last two years with Anjum Rajabali and Saumya Joshi penning the script. It’s a huge responsibility, which is why we are taking time to finalise the script, even though ours is more of an adaptation than a remake. The idea is to take the film on floors by next year.”