Sonam Kapoor has called out director Ali Abbas Zafar for failing to consult filmmaker Shekhar Kapur or her father Anil Kapoor before announcing a Mr India spin-off. The original 1987 hit comedy was directed by Kapur, produced by Boney Kapoor and starred Anil and Sridevi.
Sonam alleged in an Instagram post that Anil Kapoor was unaware that the film was being remade and “found out about it through social media”. She called the move “quite disrespectful and underhanded” considering Shekhar and Anil were “two people who played a major role in making the film what it was and is”.
“It’s sad because that was a film made with heart and hard work and is very sentimental to my father, beyond commerce and announcements, it’s a part of his legacy. I should hope that respect for someone’s work and contribution is still as important to us as a big weekend at the box office,” she added.
Shekhar Kapur had earlier denied any knowledge of the upcoming Mr India film trilogy which was to be helmed by Tiger Zinda director Ali Abbas Zafar. He too alleged that no permission had been sought from the creators of the original film and accused the makers of using the title for publicity.
“No one has even asked me or mentioned to me about this film called Mr India 2. I can only guess that they using the title to get a big weekend. For they cannot use the characters/story without permission from the original creators of the film,” he tweeted.
On Monday, 17 February, Ali Abbas Zafar and producers Zee Studios announced that a superhero trilogy that will be based on the characters from Mr India. He announced the news in a tweet and said that he was currently working on the script for the first instalment. “Excited to partner with @ZeeStudios_ for an epic trilogy #MrIndia! It is a huge responsibility to carry forward an iconic character loved by everyone. Currently, working on the script, no actor has been locked till now. Once we lock the first draft of the script, casting begins!” he wrote.
At the time, Shariq Patel, CEO, Zee Studios clarified that the project is neither a sequel or remake of the Anil Kapoor-starrer but a “re-imagining”. “We are excited to have Ali on board for Mr India. This is not a part 2 or a remake of the older film as recently reported in some sections of the media, but a re-imagining of the iconic classic,” he said in a statement.
Directed by Shekhar Kapur and written by Salim-Javed, Mr India stars Sridevi, Anil Kapoor, Amrish Puri and Satish Kaushik. Anil plays a man who shelters orphaned children in his home. After he discovers the invisibility device that his late father, who was a scientist, had created, he uses it to save his children from the evil megalomanic Mogambo whose aim is to conquer India.
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