Nishikant Kamat in acting mode, 'Force 2' can wait

John Abraham may be in a hurry to start "Force 2", but he will have to wait a while until his director, Nishikant Kamat, wraps up a new acting project.

After a sterling performance in Prawal Raman's "404" last year, Kamat will now play the central character in Rohit Jugraj's film, exploring a criminal mind. He will play a twisted mind that treats criminality as an art form.

"Rohit Jugraj has come up with an interesting idea. I like getting into the acting zone. But filmmaking is my main vocation. Acting can only be a punctuation in my story," he said.

The punctuation will only last until he gets back to directing the sequel of "Force", which turned out to be John's first solo hit.

All the talk of producer Vipul Shah going ahead with the sequel without Kamat, if the need arises, has come to a dead-end. Perhaps the producer and director have mutually decided to carry the "Force" franchise forward only when Kamat is up to it.

"Earlier when Nishikant showed a reluctance to plunge into a sequel, Vipul had emergency talks with John and his team. They all decided to do a sequel right away, with or without Nishikant Kamat. However, now it is felt it's better to wait," said a source.

This is a case of being once beaten and feeling twice shy for Shah, who after a fall-out with Anees Bazmi over "Singh Is Kinng", has not been able to get the sequel on the road.

Kamat is also confident the "Force" sequel will not be made without him.

"I don't think 'Force 2' is happening without me. Yes, Vipul and I both feel we should go ahead with the sequel together, and only when I have the right script. There's no point in doing a sequel just for the heck of it," he said.

"Force", which also featured Genelia Dsouza, was a remake of Gautham Menon's successful 2003 Tamil film, "Kaakha Kaakha".

"See, 'Force 2' is exactly in the same situation as 'Don 2' was after 'Don'. Like 'Don', 'Force' was a remake. So there was a reference point. Now the characters and the story move forward of their own volition. Let's see where it goes," added Kamat.