Bollywood to remake Kannada hit U-Turn

Director Pawan Kumar suggests Katrina or Anushka for lead role.

Kannada film U-Turn, which was released in 2016, is making news again. After its release in other south Indian languages, the mystery film will be remade in Bollywood now.

The Telugu-Tamil-Hindi rights were sold to a producer in the Telugu industry as soon as the Kannada film was released. The Telugu and Tamil remakes were released in 2018.

Pawan Kumar

Director Pawan Kumar has been in touch with Aashish Singh, CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures, and discussions about the Hindi versions are on.

“The discussions are in its initial stages. Whether I will be able to direct the film or not, will depend entirely on my schedule and how other things fall in place. If I am busy with another project I might not be able to work on it. Currently, we are looking at which actors are suitable for the film and what can be changed/ edited for the Hindi version,” details Pawan.

The Telugu-Tamil versions of the film had changes in them and the Hindi version also might follow suit. “We are not sure about the specifics. There was an upgrade for the remakes, and the Hindi one might need a rewrite too. The time factor has to be taken into consideration. One might be able to come up with better ideas,” he says.

According to Pawan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma or even Sara Ali Khan “would fit in the lead role”. “The film has a female-oriented script and these names popped up. I’m not sure who will find the script interesting and have the time to take it up,” he says.

The film talks about a problem---our callous neglect of traffic rules and the unseen consequences it could have---that holds relevance anywhere in the country, he adds.

“It’s interesting to note that the film has been shot in Bengali, and the rights have been sold for a Sinhalese and Malay remake,” says the director.

“Every time I get a call asking about the film, it is surprising. For my team and I, the film wrapped up and was done a while ago, but for it to live on for three to four years is amazing. It feels great as a writer; the content was set for a flyover in Bengaluru, but traffic issues exist across the world.”

Pawan adds that he has been discussing about collaborating with Balaji Motion Pictures for other projects, since a while. “We might work on something else, but if things fall in place, we will start U Turn first,” he adds.