Actor Sunny Deol is likely to star as Lord Hanuman in Nitesh Tiwari's adaptation of ‘Ramayana’.
A source close to the development told Pinkvilla that Sunny has shown interest in being a part of Nitesh's rendition of Ramayana, but the discussion is still in the early stages.
Pinkvilla quoted a source as saying, ‘Hanuman stands for strength and there’s no one better than Sunny Deol in the Indian film industry to justify what Bajrangbali stands for. The actor has shown interest in being a part of Nitesh Tiwari’s rendition of Ramayana and is also excited to play the part of Lord Hanuman. However, it’s still early stages of discussion.’
‘The Ramayana is just a small part of Lord Hanuman’s life, and there are many other facets to the story. Nitesh wants to explore that with a standalone film on Lord Hanuman. Everything needs to fall in place – from the date of the shoot to the commitment for the franchise spin-offs and the financial structure,’ the source added.
The adaptation of ‘Ramayana’ is being co-produced by Nitesh, Madhu Mantena, Namit Malhotra, and Allu Aravind.
According to Pinkvilla, all four co-producers are on board with the idea of not only casting Sunny as Hanuman in the ‘Ramayana’ trilogy, but also develop a spin-off on his character.
Other cast members
The trilogy already stars Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana. It is expected to go on floors in February 2024.
‘Gadar’ inspired by Ramayana
Sunny has never played a mythological character in the past, but the director of his 2001 blockbuster action romance ‘Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’, Anil Sharma, recently revealed that the film was in fact inspired by the ‘Ramayana’.
At a press conference of the sequel, ‘Gadar 2’, in August, Anil said, ‘What was Gadar? The first Gadar was Ramayana. Rama ji goes to Lanka to bring back Sita. I thought this is Ramayana, this won't flop because it resides in the people's hearts. The story of the second was Mahabharata: what if when Abhimanyu is stuck in the Chakravyuh, Arjun himself comes to rescue him? No one could've failed that story because it resides in the people's hearts as well.’
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