Here’s one pairing that is bound to create a lot of buzz. Two filmmakers who are as different as chalk and cheese; Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Madhur Bhandarkar, are coming together for an upcoming film.
We can tell you that if all goes well, Bhandarkar will direct a film for Bhansali, which is the Hindi remake of the 2002 Tamil blockbuster, Ramana, written and directed by A. R. Murgadoss, who also made the superhit Ghajini.
Ramana was first made in Tamil at a budget of Rs 11.5 crore and starred Vijaykanth and Simran. Released during Diwali, it ran for 150-odd days in theatres, a lot judging by today’s standards. It was later remade in Telugu as Tagore, with Chiranjeevi in the lead and then in Kannada with Vishnuvardhan headlining it.
A source told us, “Bhansali has been wanting to make Ramana since quite some time. He was thinking about whom to pass on the mantle. It was recently that he zeroed down on Bhandarkar. Ramana is a very hard-hitting film and would suit Bhandarkar’s style of filmmaking.”
Reportedly, Bhandarkar has agreed in principle and the modalities are being worked out. According to the source, an official from Bhansali’s company went with the offer to Bhandarkar’s office in Andheri (Mumbai). He even gave a DVD of Ramana to the director, who saw the film and quite liked it.
The film would be Bhandarkar’s next after he completes UTV’s Heroine starring Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor.
