Andaz Apna Apna sequel to be produced by Phantom films

A sequel to Andaz Apna Apna to be produced by Preeti Sinha and Phantom Films, will roll by year-end with either Vikas Bahl or Vikramaditya Motwane as director.

Twenty two years after its release, the cult classic Andaz Apna Apna is all set to go forward without its original leads, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor. Even the director, Rajkumar Santoshi, will not be a part of Part 2. Preeti Sinha, the daughter of producer Vinay Sinha, has given the rights to Phantom Films and will be collaborating with them on the project. Preeti has already joined hands with Phantom on Super 30 mathematician Anand Kumar's biopic.

According to a source close to the development, the film will roll towards the year-end with a fresh cast. "It will be an in-house director at the helm, if not Vikas (Queen and Shaandaar director Vikas Bahl), it will be Vikram (Vikramaditya Motwane of Udaan and Lootera fame)," adds the source.

The original was released in 1994 and revolved around two conmen, Amar and Prem, who are vying to woo and wed a rich heiress, Raveena, little knowing that she is really the secretary, Karishma, who has switched identities with her mistress. In another switch, Raveena's uncle, Shyam/Teja (Paresh Rawal in a double role) passes himself off as his twin Ram to repay his debts to Crime Master Gogo. The comedy of errors ends in a rib-tickling standoff. The boys get their girls, the cops get the criminals and Ram gets his identity back.

After two intense films, Ghayal and Damini, Santoshi scripted this madcap romp with Aamir and Salman as the human Tom and Jerry. Shakti Kapoor landed the role of a lifetime when Tinnu Anand turned down Gogo because of date issues. The actors improvised on the sets and the result was a laugh riot whose appeal hasn't dimmed in two decades.

Despite its endearing popularity, the film hasn't spawned any remakes or sequel. But now a follow-up is on. "The script is locked. It has been developed by Vivek Soni and Hardik Mehta who won a National Award this year for his non-feature film on kite flying in Ahmedabad, Amdavad Ma Famous, under the creative supervision of Vikas. It's a super script and promises loads of fun," the source concludes.