Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan in a file photo 9 July 2007 (Sawf News) - Amitabh Bachchan is already on the sets of the film at the the Ramojirao studio in Hydreabad. Abhishek will join the team shortly and Aishwarya will follow on July 20.
Maverick film maker Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) had good reasons to film his Sarkar sequel in Hyderabad, instead of Mumbai where the original was filmed.
The house in which the original was filmed isn't available anymore.
"That house has been demolished and was not going to be available for shooting," says a Times source.
Hydreabad is RGV's hometown and the Bachchans, keen to savor some good family time on the sets, wanted to be away from Mumbai.
Besides, RGV joked, "I don't want to be here [in Mumbai] when my film Sholay releases!"
As is well known, Sholay is embroiled in accusations of copyright violations.
Sippy Films Pvt Ltd. and Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd. have in a petition to the Delhi High Court contended that the use of Sholay, Gabbar and Gabbar Singh by Ram Gopal Varma Productions infringes on their copyrights.
The legal challenge has thrown even the unflappable RGV off balance. In a complete about turn from what he said when announcing Sholay, that his film was a remake of the original Ramesh Sippy classic, he recently told an incredulous media, "Sholay is my first original film!"
"I haven't made a single original film till Sholay. Every scene shot and frame of my earlier films have been copied from some source or the other. It could be a novel, a Hollywood movie or an old Hindi film. If I haven't been caught out it's because people haven't been able to locate my sources," says Ramu.
Despite reports that the film is now titled Ram Gopal Varma Ke Aag, the RGV camp continues to be optimistic about retaining the word Sholay in the film's title, as also the use of the character name 'Gabbar Singh'.
"But Varma has put on hold the printing of promotional stuff of the film till the fate of the case is decided," says the source.
Whatever be the outcome of the court case, RGV seems to have made a killing on the project, having already sold the entire film and its satellite rights for about Rs 43 crore.
News Copyright © Sawf News. May not be reproduced without explicit written permission