With solid actors like Hrithik Roshan and Rishi Kapoor attached, the Agneepath remake is already looking far more interesting than the Bachchans would have liked!
When Karan Johar announced he had decided to produce a remake of Agneepath, everyone in Bollywood, including the Bachchans, assumed he’d cast Abhishek in the role made famous by his father in the 1991 original. Johar had other plans. Karan Malhotra, who will be directing the update, was keen to have Hrithik Roshan play Vijay Dinanath Chauhan, and his producer liked the sound of it.
Rumour has it that Abhishek even messaged Johar, his childhood buddy, when he read that a remake was being planned, and asked if he should block his dates. Johar sidetracked him, claiming the film wasn’t a ‘go’ project, merely an idea he was exploring. Meanwhile, he had Malhotra furiously working on a script. Shortly after the script was ready, Johar packed him off to Spain, where Hrithik was shooting for Zoya Akhtar’s film. The plan worked: Hrithik greenlighted the project. According to the grapevine, the Bachchans aren’t thrilled that Abhishek wasn’t even considered for the role.
The film is now expected to release next year, with Hrithik and Priyanka Chopra in the lead roles. Nana Patekar has been roped in to play an important supporting character, and for the film’s chief villain, they have an unlikely face in mind: Rishi Kapoor. If he does say yes, it will be Kapoor’s first entirely unsympathetic negative role, and he will sport a near-bald look for the film.
With solid actors like Hrithik Roshan and Rishi Kapoor attached, the Agneepath remake is already looking far more interesting than the Bachchans would have liked!