"The months between March and September felt never-ending," says Tahir Raj Bhasin as we catch-up for a chat. For the last few weeks, the actor has been shooting Looop Lapeta at Madh Island, post which the crew will move to Goa later this month. He says he utilised the Coronavirus lockdown time for self-reflection. "I took the time to pause and appreciate how far life has come. To merely step out of those Zoom windows and be on a set full of human contact is invigorating."

The year 2019 saw Bhasin shine in Nitesh Tiwari's Chhichhore, a film that created wonders at the box office and earned rave reviews. He would've kicked off 2020 with Kabir Khan's '83 if the pandemic had not played spoilsport. However, he now owns the leading man's space in the Taapsee Pannu-starrer—Looop Lapeta—a remake of German hit film Run Lola Run. "I started 2020 brimming with hope. The silver lining is that March feels pushed to October. As an actor, I play every part with a single-minded focus. My design to work doesn't change when I am playing a hero [or otherwise]. For me, when Derek [character he played in Chhichhore] walked in, he was the leader of the pack. Outside of the craft, as trajectory, I see this as the progression that's come hard earned. I feel stimulated and consciously abstain from doing similar parts. Producers are noticing that [my character in] Manto is nothing like Chhichhore, which is starkly different from Mardaani."

Consciously aware of the responsibility that lies on him and working in that direction every day, Bhasin says the opportunity feels like a dream come true. "Taapsee and I are working on creating chemistry. The film is a remake of a German cult movie, so we need to take extra efforts to make the film palatable to the Indian audience who may or may not have seen it. I had seen the film when I was in college and never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that I will play a lead in its remake."

Coming up next, Bhasin has a Mahesh Bhatt series that marks the veteran director's digital debut. "The studio is looking [to release the series] by the first quarter of 2021."

The actress has snagged the Hindi adaptation of the German thriller, Run Lola Run, with Tahir Raj Bhasin as her co-star; film will take off in Goa in April
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 18, 2020)

Remember the 1998 thriller, Run Lola Run, which was Germany’s entry for the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language category? It missed out on the coveted statuette but grabbed seven at the German Film Awards, was a hit at the Toronto International Film Festival and got the audience vote at the Sundance Film Festival, going on to find itself a cult following. Now, Mirror has learnt that a Hindi adaptation is in the works, with Taapsee Pannu as the protagonist, originally essayed by Franka Potente, and Tahir Raj Bhasin stepping into Moritz Bleibtreu’s shoes to play her boyfriend. Titled Looop Lapeta, the crazy caper kicks off with ad filmmaker Aakash Bhatia as the director.

Taapsee confirmed the news, saying she feels privileged to be playing some truly author-backed roles at the moment. “Savi is a quirky, insane addition to my repertoire. I love how an iconic film like Run Lola Run has been adapted for the Indian milieu without losing its edge. More excitingly, it’s been laced with amazingly cheeky straight-faced humour. It’s cool in the truest sense of the word and as bold thematically as it is stylistically. I can’t wait to get started,” she exulted.

The original, helmed by young German director Tom Tykwer, took us through three possibilities of a single reality with Lola getting a call from her panicked boyfriend Mannie who is a courier for the mob, informing her that he has left a bag of 100,000 Deutsche marks in drug money on the subway. If he is unable to deliver the money to his gangster boss by noon, he will be killed. They have just 20 minutes to arrange for the money, and stopping Mannie from holding up a bank, Lola hits the streets on a run. In a race against time, the film moves at a dizzying pace, with Tykwe giving the audience three different scenarios, telling the same story in three alternate and parallel timelines, each with minor differences that have a major say in the outcome and alters the fate of the characters in amazing ways.

The makers have spent three years on the script, working with multiple writers before finally getting Dr Vinay Chhawal and Ketan Pedgaonkar on board. Remains to be seen how Run Lola Run, which was way ahead of its time even back in the ’90s, will be customised for a new-age Indian audience. The film rolls in Goa this April.