Bollywood action star Akshay Kumar has been roped in to play the lead in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next directorial venture "Gabbar".
"Gabbar" is a remake of "Ramana", a Tamil superhit directed by AR Murugadoss. The film will go on floors at the end of the year and will also star Ileana D'Cruz in the female lead.
A source told The Times of India, "Ileana started getting numerous film offers after being noticed for her role in Barfi!. Ramesh Taurani signed her for Raj Kumar Santoshi's Phata Poster... and now she has bagged Gabbar."
"Akshay and Ileana's chemistry will be interesting to watch. It is quite an unlikely pairing, which Bhansali is trying to explore. Akshay plays the lead role in the film where he fights against corruption."
The shooting for the film will commence once Akshay completes his shoot for "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai...Again" and "Boss".
"Gabbar" will be directed by southern star director Krish, who has hits like "Gamyam" (2008) and "Vedam" (2010) to his credit.
Before Krish was confirmed as director for the Hindi remake, it was rumoured that AR Murgadoss would don the director's hat.
This will be Akshay and Bhansali's second collaboration following the blockbuster "Rowdy Rathore".
The film will be produced by Shabina Khan, who had previously worked with Bhansali in "Rowdy Rathore".
