The “grand” announcement that the South’s maverick director Shankar is joining hands with Ranveer Singh for a remake of the 2005 cult hit Anniyan raises a few questions. Ever since its release Anniyan is a worldwide blockbuster. It has been dubbed into various languages including French. In Hindi it was titled Aparichit had became one of the most avidly watched Indian films on satellite channels.
I remember speaking to the phenomenal Tamil actor Vikram who played the lead, on the success of Anniyan and he had said, “Everwhere I go people, in every part of this country and the world, they talk about Anniyan. None of my other films has the same impact or reach. In fact I worked harder on Shankar Sir’s I, lost many kilos, spent hours on the prosthetics. But it is Anniyan that people talk about.”
Vikram admitted that dubbing Anniyan into Hindi as Apirichit made the reach of the film exceptional. “Aparichit is how I was recognized in the Hindi belt. Its impact is incredible and all-pervasive.”
Ranveer Singh would now be starring in the remake of a film that is so widely known. One rule of cinema: don’t touch the classics. When the Hindi remake of Anniyan with Ranveer Singh shows up, there would be comparisons. Also, since audiences have seen Aparichit repeatedly the remake would have to be radically different to get the required number of eyeballs and still Ranveer Singh would be compared unfavourably with the original.
Incidentally, what’s with Shankar’s obsession with vigilante films? Shankar’s Indian, Anniyan, Ethiran(Robot) were all vigilante films.
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