Filmmaker Krish is known for his humanistic Telugu films such as Gamyam and Vedam. Now, with his forthcoming Hindi directorial debut Gabbar Is Back, he says he has taken a commercial leap.
Gabbar Is Back is the Hindi remake of Tamil blockbuster Ramana, which was written and directed by A.R. Murugadoss over a decade ago.
“You could say I’ve gone commercial all guns blazing in Gabbar.... It was mainly done because of the story, which is about a man who takes corruption head on. All my films so far have had commercial elements, but this time I’ve upped the ante,” Krish said.
The film, he says, will be the baap (father) of all the previous remakes put together. It has already been remade in Telugu, Kannada and Bengali.
The film’s title has already created quite a buzz. Krish says it was chosen for a reason and not merely to cash in on the popularity of the original character.
“It was chosen to justify the actions of the lead character. Akshay [Kumar] plays a vigilante against corruption. In the movie, his actions may be right, but the path he chooses isn’t,” said Krish, adding: “You need good branding to sell any product. Here, Akshay raises his voice against corruption, and he achieves that through the brand name called Gabbar.”
“In the movie, there’s a scene where Akshay is writing an anonymous letter to the police and at the same time Sholay is playing on the television. He overhears a dialogue and feels that in order to instil fear into corrupt men, Gabbar is the most suitable name,” he said.
The film, which also stars Shruti Haasan and Telugu actor Suman Talwar, is produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Viacom18 Motion Pictures.
A few years ago, Krish was approached to remake his film Gamyam in Hindi. It was during this interim that he was offered the opportunity by Bhansali to remake Ramana.
“The best part of the film is that its story, which is about corruption, is relevant even today. We’ve retained the soul of the original and have made minor changes to suit Bollywood audiences,” he said.
“The remake will add a fresh perspective to the story... So much has changed in the last decade and we had to incorporate the changes in the story. Murugadoss’s story was a drama-cum-thriller and it had a very minor role for the heroine. Here, we’ve given Shruti Haasan ample scope to perform,” he added.
Krish thanked his dialogue and screenplay writer Rajat Arora for making the film “even more exciting and commercial than the original”.
On working with Kumar, the biggest star Krish has teamed up with in his career, he said: “There was absolutely no pressure while working with Akshay. It was mostly exciting. We shot for over 100 days, and he worked with the enthusiasm of a newcomer every single day. He has launched several directors in Bollywood, and I’m glad to be one of them.”
Krish spent the last two and half years shuttling a lot between Mumbai and Hyderabad. His heart lies in both the industries.
“Although I’m currently working on a Telugu film called Kanche, I’d love to do more films in Bollywood,” he said.
He added that the film with Mahesh Babu and Sonakshi Sinha he announced a few years ago, is yet to materialise.
