Mohanlal to play the Thakur in Varma's 'S

"I am all set to play a cop," Mohanlal told IANS.

And how excited is the versatile actor about playing the seething Thakur with the amputated hands in "Sholay", originally played by Sanjeev Kumar in Ramesh Sippy's blockbuster?

"Ramu (the director) is a man of many ideas. When he called me up to offer the role of the Thakur in 'Sholay' I wasn't very sure of how to react. 'Sholay' is a film that I have seen more than once.

"Every character is so deeply embedded in the audience's mind. I wonder what Ramu will do!"

Mohanlal is also aware that Gabbar Singh, his antagonist in the film, will be played by Amitabh Bachchan.

"Bachchanji as Gabbar Singh is really a thought that charges all my batteries. I have worked with the four greatest southern stalwarts - Sivaji Ganesan, Prem Nazir, Raj Kumar and Nageswara Rao. Bachchanji is like all four rolled into one, and more.

"It will be a truly exceptional experience to work with him in 'Sholay'."

Is he looking at bettering Sanjeev Kumar's performance in the original?

"Not really. I don't know what Ramu has in mind. I do know he is shifting the backdrop to the city. So there will be inbuilt changes. My interpretation of the cop's role will be my own."

Varma said: "After deciding on Mr. Bachchan for Gabbar Singh, I needed someone with a lot of understated self-confidence and a quality of the hero in his personality.

"In Mohanlal I saw the same qualities that made Sanjeev Kumar so memorable in 'Sholay'. Of course, he will play the role in his own way. This is Varma Ka Sholay, remember?"

Mohanlal's Hindi-film appearance as the cerebral and intriguing police commissioner in Varma's "Company" was widely appreciated. But it didn't really translate into a flood of opportunities in Hindi cinema for the self-effacing actor.

"I wasn't really offered anything exciting. And if I work in a language with which I am not fully at home, I need to work with directors like Priyadarshan with whom I did 'Kala Pani' in Hindi and Ramu whom I am comfortable with."

In his latest Malayalam film "Naren", the soft-spoken actor plays a 73-year-old man.

"Funnily enough my last film was 'Oyudon', which means God. And now 'Naren' means human. So that is quite a wide spectrum of characterisations. I am more than happy with the opportunities I get in the south."