Producer
Boney
Kapoor
has
acquired
the
remaking
rights
of
the
Telugu
film,
Pokhiri
(released
last
year
withr
ecord
number
of
prints),
rumored
to
be
one
of
the
highest
ever
price
for
the
remaking
rights
of
any
south
film.
The
rights
of
the
Mahesh
Babu
starrer,
which
was
a
smashing
hit
at
the
box-office
and
grossed
the
largest
collections
for
a
Telugu
film
in
75
years,
were
officially
acquired
by
Boney
Kapoor
a
week
ago
from
its
producer
and
director,
Puri
Jagan
(Jagannadh),
who
is
currently
the
hottest
selling
filmmaker
in
the
Telugu
industry.
The
film
will
be
directed
by
actor-choreographer
turned
director,
Prabhu
Deva,
who
also
directed
the
Tamil
version
of
Pokhiri.
The
film
opened
to
a
thumping
response
at
the
box-office
a
week
ago.
"I
am
sure
Prabhu
Deva
will
do
full
justice
to
it.
He
is
a
director
of
great
caliber
and
did
a
wonderful
interpretation
of
the
film
in
Tamil.
Besides
he
is
a
great
friend
to
me,
as
much
as
Boney
Kapoor," Puri
Jagannadh
revealed
from
Hyderabad
yesterday.
Interestingly,
Puri
who
is
a
Ram
Gopal
Varma
protÉgÉ,
was
to
direct
the
Hindi
version
of
the
film
for
Varma
Productions
at
one
point
of
time.
"Ramu
was
very
keen
on
re-making
the
film
in
Hindi
once
again
with
Mahesh
Babu
as
the
protagonist
and
we
were
both
seriously
toying
with
the
idea
some
time
back,"
Puri
recalls,
adding
that
Ramu
even
arranged
a
special
screening
for
Amitabh
Bachchan
who
was
thoroughly
impressed
with
the
film.
"I
felt
privileged
when
Amit-ji
watched
the
film
at
that
time
with
Ramu,"
he
adds.
The
screening
for
Bachchan
had
even
led
to
speculation
that
Bachchan
wanted
it
to
be
made
with
Abhishek
as
the
lead
hero.
However,
Puri
got
busy
with
his
Telugu
assignments,
including
his
latest
release,
Desumaduru
and
the
planning
for
his
forthcoming
film.
"I
then
decided
that
it
would
be
impossible
for
me
to
do
justice
to
the
Hindi
version
with
my
busy
schedule.
So
when
Boney
Kapoor
approached
me,
I
waited
for
some
time
before
officially
giving
him
the
rights
last
week,"
Puri
says.
Boney
Kapoor
was
unavailable
for
comment,
so
was
Ram
Gopal
Varma.
But
the
big
question
on
everyone's
minds
is
the
actor
who'll
be
signed
to
play
the
central
character
in
the
film.
"It
will
have
to
be
a
very
big
star
with
a
great
range
because
the
role
is
a
difficult
one
but
I
am
sure
Boney
is
already
exploring
several
options,
so
is
Prabhu
Deva,"
Puri
reveals.
The
Hindi
version
is
said
to
start
sometime
in
April
this
year
after
Boney
Kapoor
makes
an
official
announcement
early
next
month.
One
will
have
to
wait
and
watch
whether
it
takes
the
box-office
by
storm
as
much
as
the
Telugu
and
Tamil
version.