Hrithik, not Abhishek to star in 'Agneepath' remake

By Subhash K Jha, Mumbai, July 4 : Anyone would think that Abhishek Bachchan would be the natural choice to play Amitabh Bachchan's role in a "Agneepath" remake. However, Hrithik Roshan has been roped in to play the part in the new-age "Agneepath", while Mithun Chakraborty's award winning character has been completely done away with.

"When the idea of re-making 'Agneepath' came to producer Karan Johar, he 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," a source revealed.

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. And Jaya Bachchan would play Vijay's mother, played with brilliant poignancy by Rohini Hattangadi in the cult orignal directed by the late Mukul Anand.

However, contrary to popular opinion, Abhishek was never offered the role in the remake.

"Hrithik will play it closer to Al Pacino in 'Scarface' than Mr. Bachchan in 'Agneepath'," says a source.

"Agneepath", it would be recalled, was deeply influenced by "Scarface". The remake, 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 is that my 'Agneepath' is radically different from the 'Agneepath' that my (late) father (Yash Johar) produced. We've completely done away with the south Indian character played by Mithun Chakraborty in the original."

With that 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 Jr, who will experiment with the rasping dialogue-delivery that Big B had attempted in the original 1990's gangster film.

Many thought that it was his gravelly way of speaking in "Agneepath" that made the movie a hit. But, Hrithik is determined to prove all the self-appointed soothsayers wrong.

"My father was very proud of Agneepath. I hope I don't let him down with my version of the film. Amit-ji had won the National award for it, it's a tough act to follow for any actor," Karan says.