Bollywood’s new ‘Look East’ policy

Director Umesh Shukla is set to helm the Hindi remake of the 2013 South Korean hit, Miracle in Cell No. 7

Looks like Bollywood filmmakers are taking India’s ‘Look East’ policy seriously. Among others, Imtiaz Ali is producing an Indo-Japanese film, Love Tokyo, while Salman Khan will reportedly star in the Hindi adaptation of Korean film, Ode To My Father (2014; right), which will apparently be produced by his brother-in-law, Atul Agnihotri. Now, HT Café has learnt that one of South Korea’s all-time hits,

Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013; above right), is also set to have a Hindi remake.

According to a trade insider, while no actor has yet been roped in for the Hindi version of the film, the yet-untitled project will be directed by Umesh

Shukla (inset), of OMG – Oh My God (2012) fame. “He will start working on the Hindi remake once he is done with the shooting of his next project, 102 Not Out, which stars Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor,” the source says.

Of late, a number of Korean films have been remade for Bollywood. The list includes Rocky Handsome (adapted from The Man from Nowhere; 2010), Jazbaa (based on Seven Days; 2007), Te3N (adaptation of Montage; 2013) and Do Lafzon Ki Kahani (based on Always; 2011), among others.

“The story of Miracle in Cell No. 7 lends itself to the Indian context. That’s why the minute Umesh was offered the film by a Seoul and Los Angeles-based production house Kross Pictures, he was hooked. They have been working on it for a long time, and now, things have been finalised,” the source says.

When contacted, Umesh confirmed the news, saying, “Yes, it’s true. Right now, we are in the process of finalising the script, after which we will reach out to leading Hindi film actors.”