JP Dutta to revive Aakhri Mughal 
By Subhash K. Jha, May 2, 2007 - 05:13 IST
You can't keep a giant down. The last movie moghul J.P. Dutta might have had a serious setback with his lavish costume drama Umrao Jaan.
But JP is the last to cry over split milk. "I've faced so many hardships in my life. My first film Sarhad was shelved. My mother passed away when I was very young. Then I lost my brother. You think I'm going to be daunted by the failure of my films?"
Far from fuming about Umrao Jaan, JP is all set to start a huge project soon. And that project may again take him back in time.
"Yes," concedes JP, "I'm looking at the idea of reviving my dream project Aakhri Moghul. It continues to haunt and intrigue me."
Chronicling the life and times of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and his troubled relationship with his son, Aakhri Mughal was to be directed by JP five years ago as Abhishek Bachchan's launch film. The mighty Dilip Kumar was to play Bahadur Shah Zafar while Abhishek was to be cast as his son.
Divulges JP, "Of course the film will have to be completely re-cast now. The story still belongs to my friends from the Amrohi family. And they'd be more than happy to see me finally make a film that the great Kamal Amrohi was to make once."
Will the film feature JP's blue-eyed boy Abhishek? "Let's see…It all depends on his availability and how the script's requirements. I know Abhishek will never say no to me. But I'd never force him to do a film for me. See, there're basically six saleable actors today. I wouldn't like to run after any of them."
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