Mumbai

Mohanlal, one of the finest actors of India, is all set to return to Hindi cinema in Ram Gopal Varma’s remake of the classic ‘Sholay’. “I am all set to play a cop,” said Mohanlal.

And how excited is the versatile actor about playing the seething Thakur with the

amputated hands in ‘Sholay’, originally played by Sanjeev Kumar.

“Every character is so deeply embedded in the audience’s mind. I wonder what Ramu will do!”

“Bachchanji as Gabbar Singh is really a thought that charges all my batteries. I have worked with the four greatest southern stalwarts — Sivaji Ganesan, Prem Nazir, Raj Kumar and Nageswara Rao. Bachchanji is like all four rolled into one, and more.

“It will be a truly exceptional experience to work with him in ‘Sholay’.” Is he looking at bettering Sanjeev Kumar’s performance in the original? “Not really. I don’t know what Ramu has in mind. I do know he is shifting the backdrop to the city. So there will be inbuilt changes. My interpretation of the cop’s role will be my own.” Varma said, “After deciding on Mr Bachchan for Gabbar Singh, I needed someone with a lot of understated self-confidence and a quality of the hero in his personality.

“In Mohanlal I saw the same qualities that made Sanjeev Kumar so memorable in ‘Sholay’. Of course, he will play the role in his own way. Mohanlal’s Hindi-film appearance as the cerebral and intriguing police commissioner in Varma’s ‘Company’ was widely appreciated.