Kapoor vs Kapur on Mr India
Two days ago, filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar took to Twitter and announced that he would be partnering with a studio to make “an epic trilogy” on Mr India (1987), a genre defining film that achieved cult status over the years. His tweet read, “Excited to partner with @ZeeStudios_ for an epic trilogy #MrIndia! It is a huge responsibility to carry forward an iconic character loved by everyone. Currently, working on the script, no actor has been locked till now. Once we lock the first draft of the script, casting begins!”
Shekhar Kapur, who had directed the Anil Kapoorstarrer, responded to the tweet saying no permissions were taken from the “original creators of the film”. He tweeted, “No one has even asked me or mentioned to me about this film called Mr India 2. I can only guess that they using the title to get a big weekend. For they cannot use the characters/story without permission from the original creators of the film (sic).” There were no further comments from him.
When contacted, producer Boney Kapoor says, “I was the sole producer of Mr India. Zee Studios and I’ve decided to collaborate for this. We have just made an announcement and I can’t reveal anything more than that.”
Ali, who refused to divulge details, says, “I request you to speak to the studio. I won’t be able to comment on it now.”
A source reveals, “This is not Mr India 2. It’s not even a remake or spin-off. It’s a reboot. The idea of how a common man finds a superpower to become invisible will be the crux of the story,” adding, that the makers plan to make it into a universe. “Boney Kapoor felt that Mr India could be made into a franchise. As of now, work on the scripting on the first movie has started but it is too early to say how things will shape up,” the source adds.
Although rumours suggest that Ranveer Singh may play the lead, there’s no talk about it from the makers. We reached out to Arjun Kapoor (Boney Kapoor’s son) if he could be playing the new-age Mr India but he said that he isn’t in a “position to comment on it”.