Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 19, 2014)

Sidharth Malhotra is a worried man. He has less than a month to build up a boxer's physique for Karan Johar's remake of American sports drama Warrior.

"I reprise Tom Hardy's character, a boxer, in the Hindi version," informs the actor, adding that though it's an official remake, director Karan Malhotra has added Bollywood masala to the script. "It's become another film altogether, darker and more dramatic, much like Karan's treatment of his directorial debut Agneepath."

To gain muscle mass, Sidharth has started training in mixed martial arts, including kickboxing and wrestling. "Karan has told me that I need to look physically aggressive and put on weight. It's going to be a strenuous regime," he admits.

However, by the year-end he will have to shed it all, as he slips into character for Bhavesh Joshi. Mirror had previously reported that Vikramaditya Motwane's vigilante drama is running late because of Sidharth's commitments with Dharma Productions. The actor confirms that Warrior will start in July six months before Bhavesh Joshi.

While Motwane remains tightlipped about the details of his project, Sidharth confirms that the plan is to spin a franchise, depending on the response to the first film. When quizzed on whether he plays a Gujarati superhero, he quips, "No. Bhavesh Joshi is just a name. He is a regular, middle-class Mumbaikar who assumes another nocturnal identity and becomes a masked crusader out to protect the city, like Batman and Gotham. He doesn't have any superpowers, only skills."

So, is Sidharth a fan of the superhero genre? "I'm a superhero buff, I'm biased towards Spiderman," he says, admitting that it's a conscious decision to move away from romcoms. "A lot depends on how well Ek Villain does, if the film works, it will give me the confidence to take more risks," he concludes.

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; April 25, 2014)

Will Karan Malhotra, director of Agneepath (2012), make the Hindi version of the American sports drama, Warrior? Sources say that Malhotra will helm the Indianised adaptation of the film that will apparently be jointly produced by Endemol and Dharma Productions.

When contacted, Deepak Dhar, MD and CEO, Endemol, refused to say much. He said, “We are still working on Warrior; nothing has been finalised yet. We are yet to lock the team for this project.” A the Tom Hardy-starrer, Warrior is a 2011 sports drama that was directed by Gavin O’Connor. It tells the story of two brothers, their relationship and how they are pitted against each other in a martial arts tournament.

Not only has Endemol has bought the rights to this film, it seems that Karan Malhotra may now direct this film, even before Shuddhi goes on the floors next year.

Both Malhotra and Apoorva Mehta, CEO, Dharma Productions, remained unavailable for comment.