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 Producer Uru Patel has now zeroed in on Aamir Khan to play Hanuman,
though God forbid, not as a monkey God, but as a super-hero who can fly
over mountains and skyscrapers and rescue the modern-day Rama from the
ravenous Ravans of today’s world.
Hollywood stars Keanu Reeves and Gary Oldman will play Rama and
Ravan, respectively. Sita was to be played by Shilpa Shetty. But she
has opted out since then. The hunt is on for a new international face
to play Sita.
Aamir has been keen to do super-hero film, especially after Hrithik
Roshan’s Krissh and Shah Rukh Khan’s forthcoming Ra.1 (where he plays a
desi Spiderman). Hanuman will now be played as a super-hero with the
best action directors and special-effects experts ensuring Aamir’s safe
passage into super-heroism.
The whole project now depends on Aamir’s nod, which he’ll give only after he approves of the script.
The catch is, Aamir’s signature will have to be on every page of the script.
Says a source, “Aamir wants to sign every page of the script to
ensure no changes happen during shooting. Only then will he agree to
play Hanuman.”
Apparently this is the method of working- signature on every page of
the script- that Aamir will adopt in all his future projects, whenever
he signs more films. For now it looks like Hanuman will be his first
assignment after the blockbuster Ghajini.
Earlier Hanuman was to be directed by Luis Mandoki (of Message In A
Bottle fame). Mandoki wrote the first few drafts of the project. But
now the chosen director is Chuck Russell whose familiarity with the
language of fantasy (Eraser, The Mask, The Scorpion King, Mandrake)
qualified him for the job of directing Hanuman.
A hush-hush meeting happened in Los Angeles three months ago at
producer Uru Patel’s residence where director Chuck Russell met up with
the project’s executive producer Pradeep Guha. The project has now
passed into Aamir’s hand and his approval is awaited.
Says Pradeep Guha, “He has been approached. But Aamir will decide after he reads the script.”
Other sources insist that the makers of Hanuman are keen have Aamir on board and ready to comply with all his preconditions.
Once Aamir signs the film formally, the first schedule of Hanuman is
expected to be held in Rajasthan, at the end of the year. The rest of
the film will be shot at Hollywood studios.
Sampurn Media
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