Victoria No. 203: remake

By: Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM
Thursday, May 11, 2006

A few weeks ago, we had informed you that the remake of the yesteryear hit Victoria No. 203 was in the pipeline. The project has finally taken shape. Here's the latest on the remake of Victoria No. 203.

The remake, also titled Victoria No. 203, will be produced by Kamal Sadanah and Rohit Kumar jointly and directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan [incidentally, Kamal's father Brij had directed the original Victoria No. 203]. "The essence of the original will be retained in the remake. We will not tamper with the storyline or characters. Only thing, it will be an updated, present-day version. A blend of the old and new," Ananth confirms the development.

While the cast of the new Victoria No. 203 is uncertain, Ananth is in negotiations with Om Puri for the role that was essayed by Pran in the original. The casting of the other pivotal character, Ashok Kumar, is still undecided. The roles of Navin Nischol and Saira Banu, the love birds in Victoria No. 203, will be essayed by a new pair this time. "We may settle for some hi-profile newcomers/models for these two roles," Ananth divulges.

Another interesting aspect is that the songs from the original will be retained in the newer version and the tracks will be re-recorded by none other than Himesh Reshammiya. "At least two tracks -- 'Do Bechare Bina Sahare' and 'Thoda Sa Thehro' -- will surely be retained in the remake. Besides, the signature tune of the original ['Victoria 203'] will be a full-length song now," Ananth sounds excited. Ananth plans to shoot his interpretation of Victoria No. 203 in Mumbai entirely.

Producer Kamal Sadanah is equally gung-ho about the project in question. "I have always nurtured the desire of remaking Victoria No. 203 some day and it's finally coming true," he smiles, adding in the same breath, "Although Rohit and I kept thinking of names to helm the project, our search ended once we met Ananth. We clicked in our very first meeting. We wanted someone young and dynamic and Ananth matched our enthusiasm. It was as if he was reading our minds."

Kamal plans to start shooting once the hardbound script is ready. "The camera should rolling in a few months from now," he adds. Incidentally, Kamal has already completed Karkash, "an artistic film, which will be released simultaneously on the same day as Victoria No. 203," he states.

Both Victoria No. 203 and KARKASH are produced under the banner of Angath Arts. The banner is named after Kamal's son Angath.