Ram Gopal Varma to re-remake Sholay!
R. Venkatesan Iyengar, 13 May 2008, Tuesday

Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag’, Sholay’s remake, was a disaster. But that hasn’t deterred the irrepressible director from announcing that he would attempt another remake of the immortal classic ‘Sholay’. Let’s hope this one gives us something to smile.

ONCE BITTEN twice shy. Well, that may be true in anyone’s case, but not in Ram Gopal Varma’s. After dishing out an eminently forgettable remake – ’Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag’– of the timeless classic ’Sholay’, Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) is at it again.

The irrepressible director, who gave us such memorable movies like ’Shiva’ (Telugu) and ’Satya’ (Hindi), has recently said that he would once again attempt remaking ’Sholay’ and ensured this time he would do his homework well. In February this year too, RGV had said in an interview, “Yes, I agree ’Aag’ was a special flop. The reason I didn’t speak is because there was nothing to say. I went into a phase of introspection. I now feel I was making films lately with a certain frivolous even callous attitude. I was also making press statements for effect, for shock value. I decided to keep quiet for a while. High time I stopped talking stupidly.”

Replying to a query as to what lessons he had learnt from Aag, RGV said then, “That I need to get it right. Ramesh Sippy was right. I was foolish to attempt ’Sholay’ the way I did. At some point of time when I’m ready, I want to do it again. This time I won’t make the same mistakes.”

When RGV announced his intention to reinterpret ’Sholay’ in his own way, there was much expectation. However, with the benefit of hindsight, we can say that RGV was more interested in, as he has revealed, “making press statements for effect, for shock value”.

Here’s an example: First, we learnt from RGV himself that Abhishek Bachchan would be playing the role of Veeru (played by Dharmendra in Sippy’s ’Sholay’), Mohit Ahlawat (of ’James’fame!) would be essaying the role of Jai (played by Amitabh Bachchan in the original), and the good old Amitabh Bachchan would be seen as Gabbar Singh (played by debutant Amjad Khan in the original) in the remake. Then, we were told that Abhishek Bachchan would not act in the movie. Reason? One fine morning, RGV realised that the idea of Bachchan junior Vs Bachchan senior (Veeru Vs Gabbar Singh) might not be convincing, and their real-life relationship (as father and son) would affect the reel-life equation (hero and villain).

So, out went Abhishek and in came Saif Ali Khan as Veeru. There were also reports that Abhishek himself opted out of the movie, as he wanted to star in Mani Ratnam’s movie. But it was not Saif, but Ajay Devgan who finally essayed the role in ’Aag’. While all these made great news and helped in creating hype and expectation, it also showed that the director was not sure as to what he intended to do with his remake. The result: ’Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag’ ended up as one of the greatest fiascos of Bollywood.

’Sholay’ is easily one of the most brilliantly crafted movies. It had a great story, wonderful dialogues, lilting music and foot-tapping numbers, sleek editing and, above all, a magnificent cast, which included the ’original dude’ garam dharam (Dharmendra), the brooding and intense Amitabh, dream girl Hema Malini, the redoubtable Amjad Khan, who gave a new meaning to villainy, the dependable Sanjeev Kumar (as the Thakur cop Baldev Singh who plots his revenge), and, of course, Jaya Badhuri (as the grieving widow, who makes her presence felt even in a minor role).

If RGV’s re-remake of ’Sholay’ has to replicate at least half the screen success of the original classic, he has to get rid of his penchant for casting his camp-followers in important roles and focus on getting his script and cast right. So here are some casting suggestions for RGV to ponder over.

Dharam as Veeru was handsome, manly, boisterous, playful, and had great screen presence. My choice for the role would be: Aamir Khan. He has all the attributes mentioned above, and can get into the skin of the character. But for this to happen, RGV and Aamir should be ready to forget their public showdown after ’Rangeela’ and let the bygones be bygones.

Amitabh as Jai came up with a mind-blowing performance. He was intense and brooding – an ideal foil to the flirt Veeru. Amitabh had magnificent screen presence and in the climax, stole the thunder with his unforgettable performance. My choice for the role would be: Bachchan junior. Abhishek has got an intense, brooding, and dark aura about him. While he cannot be expected to do a Big B in the remake, he would be a far better choice for the role than any other actor in Bollywood.

Amitabh as Gabbar Singh was, in my opinion, the primary reason for the tragedy that hit ’Aag’. Only someone with a weird sense of humour could think of casting Amitabh, who immortalised the role of Jai, as Gabbar in the remake, which RGV did in ’Aag’. To see Amitabh in a role, against which he takes cudgel in the old version, defeated the whole purpose. No wonder ’Aag’ sank without a trace!

Well, Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh was sadistic, cruel and imaginative. He was at once likeable and detestable. His out-of-this-world performance as the no-nonsense-brooking dacoit. Gabbar was as good as the flamboyance of Veeru-Dharam and the intensity of Jai-Amitabh. Well, my choice for the role would be: Shahrukh Khan. If there is someone in Bollywood today who can convincingly carry a character with myriad shades of dark, it is Shahrukh. I am sure that SRK would bring all his energy and enthusiasm to the role and reinterpret it in his own way.

As for the other characters, I would cast Jackie Shroff as Thakur (played by Sanjeev Kumar in the original), and Preity Zinta as the tomboyish and garrulous Basanti (played by Hema Malini in the original), and Vidya Balan as the young widow (originally played by Jaya Badhuri).

What say?