By: Mohnish Singh

Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan, who was last seen in Yash Raj Films’ War (2019), recently onboarded the official remake of the superhit Tamil film Vikram Vedha (2017). While Roshan plays the role of gangster Vedha in the remake, Saif Ali Khan has been roped in to essay the character of Vikram, a cop. Pushkar – Gayatri, who directed the Tamil original, are set to direct the remake as well.

Those who are true Bollywood buffs would know that the remake was first offered to Aamir Khan, who was set to play Vedha in the film. While several media outlets have reported that Khan walked out of the project as he was not happy with the script, the truth is completely different.

A source close to the development told a publication, “Aamir Khan loved the original version of Vikram Vedha and had conveyed to Neeraj Pandey, Reliance and the director duo, his vision for the gangster drama. Aamir wanted to spin it around as a quintessential Hong Kong-based gangster drama, with sleek action, set against the backdrop of gang-wars in Hong Kong, making the story more friendly for the Chinese market, to get additional gains from the market. The storytelling template would have been a first for Indian audience too.”

Then what led Mr. Perfectionist to cop out of the project. The source revealed, “But when Covid-19 outbreak happened, followed by the tussle in Ladakh, the relationship between India and China went from bad to worse and Aamir had no option but to back out of the film.”

Meanwhile, Aamir Khan next stars in his home production Laal Singh Chaddha, which is nearing completion. The film is the official adaptation of the Hollywood classic Forrest Gump (1994) and also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan in the lead role.

Advait Chandan, who debuted with the multiple awards winning film Secret Superstar (2017), is helming the high-profile project.

Stay tuned to Eastern Eye for more updates and reveals from the world of entertainment.