'Mr. India' row: Shekhar Kapur nips film remake argument, says 'Sridevi was against it'

Responding to the reports of late Bollywood actor Sridevi's stance on the remake of Mr.India, veteran director Shekhar Kapur insisted that the words of the legendary actor must be considered final. Kapur tweeted on the occasion of the 2nd death anniversary of the actor and reinforced that the remake of the cult-classic film Mr.India should 'NEVER' be made. For those unaware, Sridevi played the role of an irritable and talkative journalist in the film which had been a landmark in the actor's career.

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The controversy surrounding this film began when director Ali Abbas Zafar announced that he is slated to helm a trilogy based on the iconic character of Mr.India immortalised by veteran actor Anil Kapoor. As the director of the original film, Shekhar Kapur claimed his creative rights over the film and posted his concern through social media. This turned into a controversy as the industry stood divided in their opinions regarding the remake of this film.

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However, on Sridevi's death anniversary on Monday, reports of an old interview of the late iconic Hawa Hawai girl surfaced online where she had expressed her stand about the remake of her film Mr.India. She had said that such an influential film happens by chance and that it should not be remade or turned into a sequel. The film gave us classic Bollywood villain Mogambo and also Sridevi as a talkative journalist and this, for Sridevi, was impossible to repeat.

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The controversy has sparked a debate about the creative rights of the director in any film as Shekhar Kapur found support in Anil Kapoor and his daughter Sonam Kapoor. Amid the row, as Shekhar Kapur lamented the lack of creative rights despite working with writers, actors and editors, a suggestion from Hum Tum director Kunal Kohli was to fight legally for directors’ rights. The former seemed encouraged and stated that he was ready to test this legally. 

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