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sheetal

@sheetald

Rocker

Posted: 19 years ago

Amitabh Bachchan, Nirupa Roy and Shashi Kapoor in a still from Deewar

After stepping into Amitabh Bachchan's very large shoes in the remake of Don, Shah Rukh Khan now wants to remake another landmark Big B film. SRK has been nursing a desire to play Vijay in Gulshan Rai's 1975 classic Deewar.

So much so, that he's even ready to produce the film himself. Since the film's rights are with director Rajiv Rai, he has left no stone unturned in persuading him to give it up. Says a well-placed source, "SRK hasn't approached Rai directly, but through Manmohan Shetty. He is very keen to produce the remake and play Vijay."

Ziddi Rai

Shah Rukh Khan

But Rai is equally keen to not part with the rights to Deewar. "Let's see if the project happens. If it does, it will definitely be very exciting," adds the source.

On his part, Rajiv thinks it's not wise to remake great films. While he claims ignorance of SRK's keenness to acquire the film's rights, he does admit that Manmohan Shetty is in the thick of things.

"Shabbir Boxwalla and Manmohan Shetty were talking of doing this (remaking Deewar) together. But there's no question of parting with the rights. Shabbir is family and Manmohan is a very good friend, and they wanted me to direct the film.

If Shabbir, Manmohan or even Sunil Shetty wants to remake any of my films, I wouldn't be closed on that. Nobody else has approached me directly and I am happy that they haven't," he sighs.

In limbo

But he does concede that SRK is being considered for Big B's role. "Yes, SRK's name is under consideration. Actually, let me correct myself. He has to consider us, rather than the other way round," he says.

So is SRK in or is he out? "At this point of time, I'd say the project hasn't moved, but I won't say it's not happening. Let's see," he quips.

The stuff legends are made of…

The 1975 classic Deewar cemented Amitabh Bachchan's career as the angry young man of Indian cinema. It also inspired a slew of 'Ravi-Vijay' kind of films, paying tributes to the great Indian cinematic dosti.

Deewar boasts two unforgettable dialogues: Shashi Kapoor saying, "Mere paas ma hai…" has a firm spot in cinematic history, as does the one where Bachchan says, "Main aaj bhi phaike hue paise nahin leta."

Deewar won Yash Chopra the Filmfare Award, along with Best Film and Best Supporting Actor (Shashi Kapoor). It was rumoured that Kapoor's role was first offered to Rajesh Khanna, who refused it due to his rivalry with Amitabh.