Mollywood blockbuster ‘Idukki Gold’ to be remade in Hindi

Chennai: Malayalam blockbuster ‘Idukki Gold’, directed by Aashiq Abu, is all set to be remade in Hindi and shooting is likely to begin by next year.

“Talks are on to make the Hindi version of the film and I will most probably be directing it,” Abu said.

‘Idukki Gold’, released in mid-last year, is about a trip down memory lane for five friends in their 50s. The senior characters in the movie were played by Pratap Pothen, Raveendran (a popular actor in Malayalam and Tamil movies in the late 1970s and 80s), Maniyanpillai Raju, Vijayaraghavan and Babu Antony.

“It (shooting) will happen by next year end,” Abu, who debuted with Mammootty starrer- ‘Daddy Cool’ in 2009, told PTI.

The Tamil, Telugu and Hindi remake rights of his hit film ‘Salt N Pepper’ has been acquired by actor-director Prakash Raj.
“I guess shooting for all versions have been completed, and it will be released soon.”

The 2012 film ’22 Female Kottayam’, starring Rima Kallingal and Fahad Fazil was a benchmark in his career as the strong woman-centric movie skyrocketed Abu into the top bracket of directors and fetched him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
However, its remake in Tamil ‘Malini 22 Palayamkottai’ with Nithya Menen reprising Kallingal’s role was not successful.
“The concept was bought but then others express it in their own way, they have their own perspective. To tell you the truth, I have not seen it.”

Abu’s next project is with Prithviraj and the movie is titled ‘Valathuvasathe Kallan’ (Thief on the right side).
“Jesus was crucified between two thieves, and the story is that the thief on the right side was a good thief, but the film has nothing to do with Christ. It is kind of a satire. We are scouting for new faces for the movie,” he said.

The film is based on a short story by Ambika Rani. The script is by John Paul and screenplay by Jayamohan, who penned the story for ‘Kadal’ directed by Maniratnam. Music is being composed by Isaac Kottukapally.

“Shooting will start by August-September,” Abu said.
He said he has also announced ‘Oppana’, a woman centric movie starring Rima Kallingal.
“It will go on the floors next year,” he said.

His recent film, the Mammootty starrer ‘Gangster’ did not do that well at the box-office.
“I love experimenting with scripts, sometimes it pays dividends and at times it can backfire. I have been experimenting right from my first film,” Abu, who started off as assistant director to Kamal, said.

Abu said as far as he is concerned he is open to suggestions on the set.
“If it can enhance the value of the final product, why not… there is no ego hassles. I am open to suggestions from anyone,” he said.
Abu, who has directed seven films in the course of five years, has also done a bit of acting in ‘Annayum Rasoolum’ directed by Rajeev Ravi last year but is not keen on acting as a career option.

“The director is a good friend but I have no plans to switch over to acting. I would like to stick to directing. I have a production company. I am just back from Dubai after an ad shoot,” he added.