Director Rohit Shetty has clarified that his next film starring Akshay Kumar, Sooryavanshi, is not a remake but an original story. A tabloid had reported earlier that the film is a remake of Tamil film Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru (2017).
“This is with reference to the news that has appeared in Mid-day, that director Rohit Shetty has bought the rights of Tamil film Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru for Sooryavanshi. This is to clarify that the news is completely untrue and baseless. Akshay Kumar-starrer Sooryavanshi, which is produced and directed by Rohit Shetty, is an original story and not inspired by any film,” said a statement issued by Shetty’s spokesperson.
Earlier, the Mid-day report had quoted a source as saying, “Rohit is in the process of buying the rights of the film at the moment. Even if they procure the remake rights, his team usually absorbs the plot points and writes its own narrative — they had done something similar in the case of Simmba, which was inspired by Temper (2015). There could be a few scenes replicated as well, but it will largely be a new film. The story’s ending will be altered to fit into Rohit’s vision of the Singham-Simmba-Sooryavanshi universe.”
Shetty had teased the character of Akshay in Sooryavanshi in his last blockbuster, Simmba which was released on 28 December 2018.
Directed by H Vinoth, Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru (2017) is a cop action drama, that was based on the events from the Operation Bawaria case. The particular case refers to the burglary, murder, dacoity by the Bawaria gang in the residential areas near the National Highway in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh from 1995-2006.
Shetty has had reasonable success with remakes so far. Singham (2011) was the remake of Tamil film Singam (2010), while recent blockbuster Simmba (2018) is inspired by Telugu film Temper (2015). Bol Bachchan (2012) was inspired by Hrishikesh Mukherji’s cult classic Gol Maal (1979).
Sooryanvanshi is another action drama with a cop protagonist. It is likely to be released in 2020.