Abhishek will be Veeru in Ramu's <I>Sholay</I> : Bollywood News : ApunKaChoice.Com


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Sarkar

Abhishek will be Veeru in Ramu's Sholay
07th Aug 2005 10.00 IST
By ApunKaChoice Bureau

He may have won critical acclaim and drawn rave reviews for his serious and intense role in Sarkar but expect Ram Gopal Varma to do the unexpected – cast Abhishek Bachchan as Veeru in his remake of one of the greatest films in the history of Bollywood.

Veeru, as all know, was the playboy, macho character that Dharmendra played in the original Sholay . Veeru's bum-chum Jai was played by Abhishek's father Amitabh Bachchan . So when Varma announced his intention to remake the legendary classic, all thought that he would cast Abhishek as Jai.

But this is where Varma is different from others. He first announced that the raw newcomer Mohit Ahlawat will be his Jai and the Big B will play the role of the legendary villain Gabbar Singh.

And now taking his unexpected streak to another level, Varma has announced that Abhishek will be his Veeru.

But why? Because Varma says that he doesn’t want to go by predictable patterns of casting. He says, “"I certainly don't want to go by predictable patterns of casting...not in any of my films and certainly not in Sholay where one false casting manoeuvre can ruin the entire equation. Abhishek playing his dad's role is just what audiences expect. If I do that, I might as well go the whole hog and cast Sunny Deol or Bobby Deol as Dharmendra's son, Esha Deol as Basanti (played by Hema Malini ) and Amjad Khan 's son as Gabbar Singh. The idea is to stay many steps ahead of audiences' expectations. Abhishek as the extroverted, talkative comic Veeru strikes me as perfect. We've already seen Abhishek do the brooding intense silent act in Sarkar. I think a role where he needs to expand on his real-life personality is just what's required. I've seen how good Abhishek played the comic gregarious soul in Bunty Aur Babli . As Veeru I'd get him to move ahead in the same devilishly mischievous direction."

At first Abhishek was surprised by Varma’s seemingly strange decision to cast him as Veeru in his ‘Sholay’ and said, “Who me?” "But then Ramu can be so persuasive. I decided to go along with any decision that he takes," he adds.

And now Abhishek is also excited about being in the film: "Who wouldn't be? It's one of the greatest films ever made. This time I'll get a chance to stand opposite dad. That should prove quite a challenge."

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