‘Anniyan’ Hindi remake: Shankar, Ranveer Singh join hands

Bollywood star Ranveer Singh and director S. Shankar are teaming for the Hindi-language remake of 2005 Tamil blockbuster Anniyan. Bringing them together is veteran film producer Dr. Jayantilal Gada of Pen Studios.

The yet-untitled project has been announced around the auspicious time of Baisakhi in North India and Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, which marks the New Year celebrations in these respective calendars. The film is slated to go on the floors in mid-2022, and will be co-produced by God Bless Entertainment. The music of the film will be available on Saregama.

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Talking about the remake, director Shankar said, “For it to be made into a Hindi film, Anniyan needed a maverick, charismatic showman like no other to play the part. I found this in the mercurial Ranveer Singh, because he is a one-in-a-generation actor who has shown us that he can immortalise a character through his stellar performance.”

He added, “I’m thrilled to make Anniyan for the pan-Indian audience and I’m confident that this powerful story will strike a chord in the hearts of all. In Dr. Gada, Ranveer and I have found an ideal producer who believes in the vision we have to change the nativity of content for audiences across the country.”

Meanwhile, Ranveer Singh said in a statement, “I am blessed to have this opportunity to be a part of the spectacular cinematic vision of Shankar sir. He is an exception to the norm, a true disruptor who has shown us that no vision is large enough to achieve on screen. I had always hoped and dreamed that I would get a chance to collaborate with him, and I have a strong feeling that we will create magic together. To lead a film like Anniyan is a dream come true for any artiste.”

The actor was also full of praise for Vikram, who acted in the original, “Vikram sir, one of our country’s finest talents, an artiste who I hugely admire, gave a colossal performance in the original, one that can never be matched. I can only hope that my interpretation and rendition of the part also connects with audiences in the same way. It’s undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime performance piece, and I am ready to give this role every single ounce of my being. Shankar Sir is a genius filmmaker and a true visionary. Words don’t do justice to just how excited I am at the prospect of being directed by him.”

The original Anniyan, released in 2005, followed the life of an average everyday man, who is frustrated at the government and system, and takes things into his own hands to correct it. The main protagonist, played by Vikram, develops multiple personality disorder and revels in two other identities to combat his disillusionment. The film, that also starred the likes of Sadha and Prakash Raj, and had music by Harris Jayaraj, was a massive success and even won a National Award for Special Effects.

The film was also dubbed into Telugu as Aparichithudu and in Hindi as Aparichit, that was released a year later.

Apart from Anniyan, director Shankar is known for his big-budget blockbusters over the years, including Rajinikanth’s Enthiran, Sivaji and 2.0, as well as Kamal Haasan’s Indian. He also has Indian 2 in the works currently.

Ranveer Singh has films like 83, Sooryavanshi and Cirkus in the pipeline currently.