Akshay Kumar in Kung Fu Hustle Remake?

By: Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Is Akshay Kumar working in the remake of Stephen Chow's KUNG FU HUSTLE, directed by Rohan Sippy? That's the buzz in the industry. How far is it true? Let's get it straight from Rohan himself...

"Akshay is a great guy. We were keen to work with him some day and when we narrated this concept [Sridhar Raghavan has penned the script], he gave his approval instantly. I would like to clarify that it's not a remake of KUNG FU HUSTLE. It's an original script altogether.

"Another misconception is that I am directing the film. That's untrue! Sriram Raghavan [Ek Hasina Thi] is directing this film. I am merely producing this venture. This film requires a lot of pre-production planning. In fact, we are already planning its promotional ideas at the very outset. We are all charged up right now. It's going to be fun.

"I am concentrating on film production at the moment. This year is crucial for us. We release Fear [dir.: Vikram Bhatt] in April. Then we get headlong into two projects. Sujoy Ghosh's Aladdin with Mr. Bachchan [playing the genie], Sanjay Dutt [in a flamboyant role] and Ritesh Deshmukh [as 'Aladdin'] will take off in the first half of 2007.

"The next project to roll is a comedy with Nana Patekar and Shahid Kapoor in principal roles. Rohit Shetty [Zameen, Golmaal] is directing this film. It's a fantastic script with great characters. We haven't titled it yet. Plus, there's this Akshay Kumar film I just spoke about.

"Right now, I am enjoying my job as a producer. Sujoy, Sriram, Sridhar and Rohit are huge fans of Hindi cinema and also of my father [Ramesh Sippy]. They're brimming with ideas and possess distinguished sensibilities. I am looking forward to their projects with enthusiasm. I have no idea when I'd start my film [Bluffmaster! was his last release]. Is it with Abhishek? I don't know. Get me a script and I'll tell you!"