No plans of selling 'Angaar' remake rights: Director

Mumbai, Oct 20 (IANS) Missing from Bollywood action for nearly 10 years, filmmaker Shashilal Nair, who last made the rather dubious 'Ek Chotisi Love Story' in 2002 before he left the country, is taken aback by recent media reports that one of his best-known films, 'Angaar', is being bought for remake rights.

Settled in London for nearly a decade, Nair was tracked down from his self-imposed hiding to state that he has no plans of selling 'Angaar' or any of his films for a remake.

'I happen to be the film's co-producer and I've no knowledge of any such plans of transaction. A software company Endemol was keen to remake 'Angaar' and was chasing my office in Mumbai. But I am not too kicked by the idea of handing over the remake rights to anyone who asks for it,' Nair said.

Nair, who is currently studying five-dimensional filmmaking in London, says he is in no mood to remake any of his films. 'For some years now I've been busy researching and studying five-dimensional filmmaking. I'll be back in Mumbai to make another film,' he said.

Shashilal Nair was at one time best friends with Jackie Shroff, with whom he made his best films ('Falak', 'Angaar', 'Grahan', 'One 2 Ka 4'). The last film that Nair attempted to make in Mumbai was a new-age adaptation of Nabokov's 'Lolita', which suffered when Ram Gopal Varma made 'Nishabd', based on the same subject of a much older man falling in love with a girl old enough to be his daughter.

Jackie apparently was unhappy and uncomfortable with the steamy scenes that he was forced to do for Nair's 'Lolita'. This strained their friendship. Nair was also very close to Manisha Koirala. They fell out over her steamy scenes in 'Ek Chotisi Love Story'. Friendless in Bollywood, Nair soon fled the country.

He lives in London with his family.

'But I'll be back soon. I am in and out of Mumbai anyway. As for 'Angaar', please leave it alone,' he said.