AUG 31- Telugu actor Ramcharan Teja, the son of southern cinema icon Chiranjeevi, is well aware of the great risk he has taken by choosing for his Bollywood debut, a role immortalised by superstar Amitabh Bachchan in his heyday.
In fact, he expects a section of the audience to reject outright Apoorva Lakhia’s remake of the 1973-hit Zanjeer.
“Not only will I be compared (with Big B), a section will be terribly upset to see me playing Vijay.
Diehard Bachchan fans would never want to see anyone reprising the iconic character,” says Teja, who has been paired opposite Priyanka Chopra in the new Zanjeer, set for release on September 6.
He adds: “The film gave Bollywood its angry young man, and the idea of re-creating the film sounded bizarre at first. When the role was offered to me, I was confused.
We all know that one can never recreate the magic of an original film.” Nevertheless, he says, he is convinced that the film will strike a chord with the youth, for whom the remake has been made.
“Our film has not tampered with the original; rather, it is a re-imagined narration for the new generation.
Young audience, in the age group of 16-33 years, constitutes the main viewership of Bollywood films. We are aware that most of them have not seen the original.
So, we are narrating a new story with emotions that the youth will appreciate,” he says. By virtue of being the son of Chiranjeevi, the actor-turned-politician, Ramcharan is quite the sensation down South.
Now, with his entry into Bollywood, he wants to reach out to more people.
“Hindi films offer a wider reach. As an industry, it has the capability to merge varied states, languages and nationalities,” says Ramcharan, underlining the fact that the line between Hindi and Southern cinema has blurred to a great extent. “Several southern actors are coming to Mumbai.
Likewise, many Bollywood actors are appearing down South or borrowing ideas from southern films. Dhanush’s success (with Raanjhanaa) is an example,” he adds.
INDIA TODAY
