vijay

It has almost been confirmed that Ilayathalapathy Vijay will play Rancho, the character made memorable by Aamir Khan in the Rajkumar Hirani-directed 3 Idiots.

The Bollywood mega blockbuster will be remade in Tamil by a popular production house which has the remake rights in all south Indian languages. The company had earlier bought Sanjay Dutt’s Munnabhai MBBS from its Hindi producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and remade it in Tamil as Vasool Raja MBBS with Kamal Haasan which turned out to be a hit.

Vijay reportedly loved 3 Idiots and expressed a desire to do the Tamil remake. So, the producers approached him and he is said to have willingly agreed to do it without any change in the story. A source close to Vijay said that the actor felt that there was more heroism and grit in Rancho’s character than in the larger-than-life superheroes who dominate commercial cinema. “Also, he found the underlying message in the film powerful. The actor is confident that the film will work with the masses and classes alike,” he said.

The source added that the actor feels the original has tremendous youth appeal and a feel-good factor which will work in a big way with the audiences. “It will work big time in Tamil Nadu, which has the maximum number of engineering colleges in the private sector in India. Says a leading Tamil film director, “Vijay understands commercial cinema better than most other actors. He realises that the days of the bad-guy-bashing-heroes are numbered. He wants to move on and do something more sensible and different. The concept of 3 Idiots — which openly challenges our education system that encourages learning by rote — will work with the common man for whom education is of prime importance.”

The producers of the film are now on the lookout for a director who can do a balancing act between commercial and sensible cinema. Vijay himself is reported to have told the producers that he does not want to tinker with the storyline or introduce mass elements, and wants a director who will be faithful to the original. Noted director Vishnuvardhan was approached to do the remake, but declined it citing other commitments in Telugu. Says Vishnuvardhan, “I think it is going to be a kickass film. Vijay is fantastic in comedy roles. I wish I could do it, but unfortunately I’m busy with two Telugu projects with Allu Arjun and Ram.”

Noted cameraman Ratnavelu has been approached to handle the camera for the film, which is likely to have music by Vijay Antony (the original Shantanu Moitra’s music with chartbusters like Aal Izz Well and Zoobie Doobie come with the remake rights). Sources state that among those contacted for doing the heroine’s role are Shruti Haasan and Asin. However, when contacted, Shruti refuted the claim and went on to say, “I haven’t been approached for this project. Currently, my commitments and dates lie with Murugadoss’s film. I’m also busy setting up house in Mumbai and have no time to breathe.”

Meanwhile, the grapevine is abuzz that Sathyaraj has agreed to play the role of Viru Sahastrabudhhe (or Virus, as he was called) — the grumpy principal in the film. Jiiva has given the nod to play the role of Raju, played by Sharman Joshi. Farhan’s role, played brilliantly by Madhavan in the original, is likely to be played by an upcoming star, after Simbu politely refused it.

It sure looks like aal izz well for Vijay as the film will start rolling by July after he completes the first schedule of Bodyguard’s remake with Siddique.