MUMBAI:

Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma is hoping to recreate the enduring magic of the 1975 super hit Sholay with his remake Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, featuring Amitabh Bachchan as the feared dacoit Babban (Gabbar) Singh.

“The original Sholay created an excitement by giving the audience one slammer of a scene after another. I hope to do the same,” said Varma.

Varma also confesses his take on Sholay is the “only original film” that he has made so far.

“I haven’t made a single original film till Aag. 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 or an old Hindi film. If I haven’t been caught out it’s because people haven’t been able to locate my sources. Aag is my first original film.”

The film had nothing to do with the underworld, says Varma. “It’s almost a throwback to the kitschy films of the 1970s, like Nasir Husain’s Yaadon Ki Baraat or Chori Mera Kaam. It isn’t a gangster film nor is it a dacoit drama.”