Sometime last year, it was reported that B Subhash’s popular and much-loved film, Disco Dancer (1982), which starred Mithun Chakraborty, is all set to be made into a musical on stage. It was said that the musical will be produced by popular music director Salim-Sulaiman, but owing to the pandemic, the plans were put on hold for a while. Talking about, director B Subhash told ETimes, “I have given the screenplay rights of the film to Salim-Sulaiman and they are working on it.”

Music director-turned-producer Salim Merchant added, “Due to the lockdown, rehearsals are on hold, but once everything opens up and we get the permission to restart work we will get going.”

The Mithun Chakraborty-starrer was a rage when it released, heralding the disco era in Bollywood. When asked who does he see playing Mithun’s part in the musical, B Subhash says, “Films and plays are two different mediums and I really don’t know who will be to able play that character.” Salim, too, was tight-lipped when asked about the actor who will be taking the centre stage in the musical. Interestingly, last year, Tiger Shroff stepped into Mithun Chakraborty’s shoes when he had danced to the remixed version of the iconic song, which was titled I am a Disco Dancer 2.0. The music of the video was produced by Salim-Sulaiman themselves, and Benny Dayal sung the track.

The film, a story about a street dancer’s transition to a disco dancer, was also known for Bappi Lahiri’s compositions like I Am A Disco Dancer and Jimmy Jimmy. Speaking about the songs that he would want to see reprised on stage, the director said, “I have no idea which songs from the film will be used, though I would want them to keep Jimmy Jimmy and I am a Disco Dancer in the musical as they are integral to the story.”