No changes

No change in the new Anthony Gonzalves

David Dhawan promises to leave Big B's character untouched in his Amar Akbar Anthony remake

Subhash K Jha

Keeping with the remake mode, Salman Khan has been cast as the irrepressible, street-smart Anthony Gonzalves in David Dhawan's adaptation of Manmohan Desai's Amar Akbar Anthony. And while the film will also star the Khan siblings Arbaaz and Sohail, director Dhawan says, "I don't intend to make any changes in the character of Anthony Gonzalves. The character is untouchable and will remain so. But just wait and see what Salman does to it."

While Vinod Khanna's Amar from Desai's classic will be played by Arbaaz, the third Khan brother Sohail will don the role of Akbar played by Rishi Kapoor in the original. As for Salman, the character he essays is the one that Amitabh Bachchan took to dizzying heights of fame with the comic drunken act in front of the mirror.

Considering Amitabh Bachchan will be seen as Gabbar Singh in Ram Gopal Varma's Sholay and Shah Rukh Khan as Don, is Salman's take on Anthony Gonzalves a mere gimmickry?

More so, why has Dhawan cast all three brothers in the film? "I've worked with all three brothers. Just wait and see what I do with them in Amar Akbar Anthony. In any case, the cast was decided by the producer Ramesh Taurani. There's still a long way to go before we actually finalise the line-up. I need to sit down and re-write the film. Right now, I'm too busy with the release of Shaadi No.1 – it has opened tamely but will definitely make money for producer Vashu Bhagnani. My next film is with Salman and Govinda."

Amar Akbar Anthony isn't the only classic remake that Salman will be seen in. He's also being finalised for a new adaptation of Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam where he is likely to star as a lonely alcoholic wife's arrogant zamindar-husband.

Salman has had his heart set on the role ever since he heard about this Pritish Nandy production. The actor has already met up with director Rituparno Ghosh in Mumbai for the same and the two are looking forward to working with each other.