Katrina to play Jaya's role in Ramu's 'Sh

Having cast most of the other major parts in "Sholay" (Basanti is still pending), Ramu has now gone and signed the lovely Katrina to play the mutely grieving widow Radha in the remake of the 1970s blockbuster.

Jaya Bachchan had taken the part to the heights of unspoken poignancy in the original. You wonder what Katrina can do to the part!

"Not so fast," says Ramu. "I have directed Katrina in 'Sarkar'. I know what she is capable of. She is a classic beauty. I am casting her as a south Indian Brahmin, Mohan Lal's daughter-in-law. I think re-locating such a glamorous girl in a de-glamorised milieu would be interesting."

Ramu says in principle the widow's part will remain unchanged in the new version of "Sholay".

For Katrina, playing a widow so early in her career is a gamble. Asha Parekh in "Kati Patang" and Padmini Kolhapure in "Prem Rog" gave career-defining performances in spotless white.

Ram Gopal Varma's "Sholay" can rev up Katrina's career.