You
would
think
Abhishek
Bachchan
would
be
the
first,
last
and
natural
choice
to
play
Amitabh
Bachchan's
role
in
a
new-age
remake
of
the
1990's
cult
gangster
film
Agneepath.
In
fact
it
was
presumed
by
a
very
large
section
of
the
entertainment
industry
that
Abhishek
would
play
the
eponymous
part
of
Vijay
Dinanath
Chauvan
while
Jaya
Bachchan
will
play
Vijay's
mother
played
with
such
brilliant
poignancy
by
Rohini
Hattangadi
in
the
original
directed
by
the
late
Mukul
Anand.
However,
it
has
now
come
to
light
that
Abhishek
was
never
offered
the
lead
in
the
Agneepath
remake.
Says
a
source,
"When
the
idea
of
re-making
Agneepath
came
to
Karan
Johar,
he
had
right
away
locked
in
on
Hrithik
Roshan.
It
was
a
commitment
to
the
actor
who
is
very
keen
to
give
his
own
interpretation
to
the
character.
Hrithik
will
play
it
closer
to
Al
Pacino
in
Scarface
than
Mr.
Bachchan
in
Agneepath."
Agneepath,
it
would
be
recalled,
was
deeply
influenced
by
Scarface.
The
neo-Agneepath,
written
and
directed
by
debutant
Karan
Malhotra
purports
to
pay
homage
to
Scarface.
While
refusing
to
discuss
the
cast,
producer
Karan
Johar
says,
"All
I
can
say
at
the
moment
is
that
my
Agneepath
is
radically
different
from
the
Agneepath
that
my
father
(the
late
producer
Yash
Johar)
has
produced.
We've
completely
done
away
with
the
South
Indian
character
played
by
Mithun
Chakraborty
in
the
original."
With
that
bit
of
information,
Mithun'
s
dreams
of
seeing
his
son
Mimoh
cast
on
the
role
he
originally
played
also
goes
up
in
flames.
Karan
Johar's
Agneepath
would
be
a
solo
act
featuring
Roshan
who
apparently
will
experiment
with
the
rasping
dialogue-delivery
that
Mr.
Bachchan
had
attempted
in
the
original
Agneepath.
Many
thought
it
was
his
gravelly
way
of
speaking
in
Agneepath
that
did
the
picture
in.
Hrithik
is
determined
to
prove
all
the
self-appointed
soothsayers
wrong.
Says
Karan,
"My
father
was
very
proud
of
Agneepath.
I
hope
I
don't
let
him
down
with
my
Agneepath.
Amitji
had
won
the
National
Award
for
Agneepath.
It's
a
tough
act
to
follow
for
any
actor."
Story first published: Monday, July 5, 2010, 14:54 [IST]