Nisha Kothari to be Ramu's 'Basanti'

(TOI photo)
MUMBAI: Alleged legal threats notwithstanding, Ram Gopal Varma is forging ahead with his inspired version of yesteryear magnum opus Sholay.
Four weeks ago, the film-maker unveiled Amitabh Bachchan's 'look' as the new Gabbar Singh. And even as critics and detractors continue to warn him, Varma has now narrowed down on his two women protagonists, who will play Basanti (Hema Malini) and Radha (Jaya Bachchan).
This time around, Basanti is Varma's current muse Nisha Kothari while the role of the Thakur's stoic daughter-in-law in the original version will now be played by Sushmita Sen.
But, as a Bollywood insider points out, Varma is clearly not taking any more chances with the law, and has introduced definite changes in these characters.
So, Nisha is Ghungroo, not Basanti, and will ride an autorickshaw called Laila rather than a horse cart with a filly called Dhanno.
Sushmita, on her part, is Devi, a sombre woman whose life is melancholy because her fiancé was slain by a cruel Thakur. Sounds familiar?
(TOI photo
But Varma insists that these are sheer coincidences. "Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay is set in another milieu, another city. And as such there are no similarities with the original," says the film-maker who is currently shooting his film in Mumbai. Why Nisha and Sushmita?
"I conducted auditions for the lead roles and found that Nisha fitted the bill of Ghungroo perfectly. So also Sushmita," says Ram Gopal Varma.
Giving a peek into the Ghungroo character, he adds, "She likes you to believe she's a man. But deep inside, she is all woman."
Ghungroo is Mumbai's only rickshaw driver who jabbers non-stop in Marathi, Hindi and even English. There's one more major change.
In the original Sholay, the characters of Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan never came face to face. But in 'Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay', Varma will get his two heroines to have an interface.