According to a report, Nitesh Tiwari is contemplating not just casting Sunny Deol in his Ramayana adaptation, but also exploring the potential for a Hanuman character spin-off.
If there ever was a casting coup, it’s this one. As per a new report by Pinkvilla, Sunny Deol is reportedly in talks to play Hanuman in Nitesh Tiwari’s adaptation of Ramayana. The trilogy already stars Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, and Yash as Ravana.
Sunny Deol as Hanuman
The report states a source close to the development as saying, “Hanuman stands for strength and there’s no one better than Sunny Deol in the Indian film industry to justify what Bajrangbali stands for. The actor has shown interest in being a part of Nitesh Tiwari’s rendition of Ramayana and is also excited to play the part of Lord Hanuman. However, it’s still early stages of discussion.”
The adaptation of Ramayana is being co-produced by Nitesh, Madhu Mantena, Namit Malhotra, and Allu Aravind. The report added that all four co-producers are on board with the idea of not only casting Sunny as Hanuman in the Ramayana trilogy, but also develop a spin-off on his character. In fact, it’s the idea of a separate track that has piqued the interest of the actor in the project.
“The Ramayana is just a small part of Lord Hanuman’s life, and there are many other facets to the story. Nitesh wants to explore that with a standalone film on Lord Hanuman. Everything needs to fall in place – from the date of the shoot to the commitment for the franchise spin-offs and the financial structure,” the source added, as per the report. The trilogy is likely to go on floors in February next year.
Gadar inspired from Ramayana
While Sunny has never played a mythological character of Hanuman’s stature in the past, the director of his 2001 blockbuster action romance Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Anil Sharma, recently revealed that the film was in fact inspired from the Ramayana. At the success press conference of the sequel, Gadar 2, in August this year, Anil said, “What was Gadar? The first Gadar was Ramayana. Rama ji goes to Lanka to bring back Sita. I thought this is Ramayana, this won’t flop because it resides in the people’s hearts. The story of the second was Mahabharata: what if when Abhimanyu is stuck in the Chakravyuh, Arjun himself comes to rescue him? No one could’ve failed that story because it resides in the people’s hearts as well.”
Besides the probability of Ramayana, Sunny will surely be seen in Lahore 1947.
Disclaimer: Except the headline and synopsis, this story has been taken from the HT News Service.