Sanjay Gupta and Abbas Mustan lock horns over remake rights of Spanish film

By Bollywood Hungama -

May 29, 2010 - 12:00 AM IST

Sanjay Gupta and Abbas Mustan lock horns over remake rights of Spanish film

Sanjay Gupta is assured that there won't be any roadblocks in the journey that he has taken towards remaking the Spanish film Ladron Que Roba A Ladron. Though Maroos from Shemaroo too have their eyes set on this action thriller which is on the lines of Oceans series and have made their intentions clear about remaking this film with director duo of Abbas-Mustan, Gupta is amused at the very thought of it. Reason being that his company White Feathers has officially procured rights to the film while Shemaroo (apparently) doesn't have any legal right around remaking the film.

"I guess this is very preposterous on the part of Shemaroo to be making a statement that they will make this film instead of me doing it", smiles Gupta, "I am not bothered with what they have to say because I have been negotiating with the makers of this Spanish film for over 6-7 months now. In fact we also clinched the deal 2 months back. So where is the question of anyone else thinking about officially remaking the film?"

In fact the story goes that quite a few Bollywood makers were in queue to pick this Spanish thriller which was one of the few major flicks to get a major mainstream release in USA and manage a successful box office run.

Says an industry insider who has been closely following the interest quotient that has been on display for last few months regarding this film, "Here is a film which has been seen and liked by many. In fact it is not just White Feathers and Shemaroo who were hopeful of getting hold of rights to officially remake the film. There were other top Bollywood film makers as well who were trying their luck. In fact some people from the industry who are quite big and reputed also tried to talk out Sanjay into letting go off the right but he had to politely decline because even his hands were tied."

This happened because Gupta's work in the past turned the tables in his favour. Makers of Ladron Que Roba A Ladron were holding on to their horses and wanted to be careful about handing over the rights only to the director who could go ahead and do justice to this slick thriller. Once they saw Gupta's earlier work like Kaante, Musafir and Zinda, they were assured that he was the man for the job. Their only condition was that Sanjay Gupta won't just produce but also direct the film. This is what got Gupta out of a hibernation period of 5 years (his last full fledged directorial outing was Zinda).

"Well, the very fact that they gave my company the rights to make the film pretty much establishes the trust and confidence they had in us. I was actually busy writing my own script but since they wanted only me to direct, I had to do consent to that. Of course I am sure that I am going to enjoy my comeback in a big way", says Gupta who has almost finalised the cast of the film and is ready to announce it in quick time.

But Ketan and Raman Maroo seem to be quite sure about Gupta handing over the film to them? What is Gupta's take on this?

"I don't think it was arrogant on any part. Perhaps they have been misquoted", says Gupta in a diplomatic tone, "May be issme bhi unka ek apnapan hai. I guess because I share a good personal equation with Maroos, they feel that woh mujhe manaa lenge and I would hand over the rights to them. As I said, the makers of Ladron Que Roba A Ladron want only me to direct. When I can't rope in some other director from my company itself to make the film, how is it possible to allow any director from another company to do that?"

Meanwhile, how is he looking at addressing the issue around Abbas Mustan going ahead with the Shemaroo version of the film.

"Well, having known Abbas Mustan for so many years and belonging to the filmmaker fraternity, I am sure that they would be the last people on the face of this planet to indulge in hanky-panky like this", says Gupta in an assured tone, "They have been in the business for long enough not to involve themselves into something like this. I have the highest regards for them and their reputation is unblemished. They are as white as the clothes they wear."