Sippy's Sholay to become eternal with Gabbar, says Ravi Kishan

Lucknow, Oct 31 (UNI) Predicting the rip-roaring success of his forthcoming flick 'Gabbar', Bhojpuri heart-throb Ravi Kishan noted the magic of Ramesh Sippy's 'Sholay' would become eternal with small screen queen Ekta Kapoor remaking the 1975 classic in Bhojpuri.

''Sholay, a multi-starrer of 1975 with Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, was an unparalleled success and smashed all records. Indeed, in some theaters, the film ran for one whole year...now, the magic would surely become eternal with Gabbar,'' Ravi told a news conference in the state capital to commemorate the success of reality show 'Bathroom Singer' on Filmy channel.

However, Ekta's movie will not have Jai and Veeru in the lead roles, but it will be played by the villain character of the original film-Gabbar Singh. And this time, I will be playing the lead role, while Jeetendra will play the Thakur's character. The story revolves around an ex-soldier Govardhan, who later becomes an outlaw, as 'Gabbar Singh,' the actor, who is better known as the Bhojpuri cinema's Big B further said.

Ravi added though the names of the characters are the same, the story is from Gabbar Singh's point of view in this film. Unlike the earlier Sholay, which was woven around Thakur, this time, the film will show the conditions that pushed Gabbar Singh to become Gabbar Singh as the villain.

Asked about the reasons for not releasing Gabbar with Ram Gopal Verma's 'Aag' as he once claimed, the actor observed ''thank God...

the film was not released with Aag, otherwise, my Gabbar would also have the same fortune. It was the most horrible film ever made by Ramu. People will take time to overcome from that bitter experience.'' ''Deepawali is approaching and some films are already slated to be released on the festival. So, we have decided to release Gabbar on Holi,'' the actor, who became talk of the town through reality television programme 'Big Boss', said.

Bhojpuri cinema has grown over the years, alluring Bollywood big shots like Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini. And now with Sholay in Bhojpuri, the industry is all set to get a further boost.

Ravi's forthcoming assignments include a 'Hinglish' movie titled 'Cocaine' with fellow Big Boss contestant Rahul Roy, 'Mahadev' by Shyam Benegal, untitled films with comedy king Govinda, G P Sippy and Pehlaj Nihlani.

His dream roles comprise the ones played by thespian Dilip Kumar in 'Ganga Jamuna', Guru Dutt in 'Pyaasa' and 'Naya Din Nai Raat'.

Asked about the reasons for doing 'Bathroom Singer' after his claims of never joining reality shows after the 'Big Boss' experiences, the actor noted ''I wanted a change. This time, I was not locked in a room. I got a chance to display my wilder side best.'' UNI