Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan has not only aced as an actor, but he's also a profound writer, director, and producer. In his illustrious career, Kamal has also written and directed some of the finest classics, and today we'll discuss a remake of his film that could have been possible only because of the determination of the filmmaker.
This film was the Hindi remake of Kamal Haasan's Tamil blockbuster, and the pan-India star wrote the story of the film. The Tamil original was produced with enthusiasm, but its Bollywood remake went through several changes and rejections.
The Kamal Haasan film that went through several changes was...
Virasat (1997), the Amrish Puri, Anil Kapoor, Tabu-starrer was the official remake of Kamal's Thevar Magan (1992). The family drama revolves around Shakti (Anil), an American-returned student who wants to revolutionize his village, before getting settled in the city. However, soon he becomes the new head of his village, and he needs to protect his family and his people from external threats.
Kamal wanted to star in the Hindi remake, but with...
When Kamal decided to make a Hindi remake of Thevar Magan, he wanted to cast Dilip Kumar as the village's mukhiya Raja Thakur. In the original, Peria-thevar was played by Sivaji Ganeshan. Kamal approached Dilip with the role, and he 'really begged' him to do the film, but the late actor rejected it, as he was not working in the films anymore. Thus, Kamal gave away the rights to the film to Bharat Shah.
Actors who rejected Virasat
As per IMDb, Anil Kapoor wasn't the first choice for the film. Reportedly, Shah Rukh Khan was offered the film but he rejected it. Similarly, Naseeruddin Shah was approached to play Raja Thakur but rejected the offer. When it comes to actresses, Raveena Tandon and Sridevi were offered to play Tabu and Pooja Batra's roles, but they also rejected the film for unknown reasons. Before Tabu, even Juhi Chawla was considered, but she was busy with her other projects.
Virasat took a dull start at the box office
Virasat was released in the cinemas on May 30, 1997. Reportedly, the film opened on a dull note, and there was no audience. However, due to favourable word-of-mouth, Virasat became a blockbuster, earning 16.36 crores worldwide. On the work front, Kamal Haasan is seen as the main antogonist Supreme Yaskin in Kalki 2898 AD. He will next be seen in Indian 2.
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