South actors Dhanush and Ram Charan Teja will soon make their entry into Bollywood.
If all had gone according to plan, Ram Charan would have been the first of the two to debut in Bollywood. Unfortunately, the actor's film "Zanjeer", a remake of the 1970s Amitabh Bachchan film, has been facing troubles for the last few months.
"Zanjeer" was expected to get released before the first half of this year. The film's producer Amit Mehra is embroiled in a battle with his brothers over the remake rights of the film. Their father Prakash Mehra was the producer of the 1970s film and held the the remake rights. His son Amit has produced the remake directed by Apoorva Lakhia.
Amit had reportedly bought the remake rights from his elder brother Sumeet and younger brother Puneet. However, Amit defaulted on the payments which led to the brothers terminating the remake contract.
The issue went to court and in April, the SC issued a restraining order to Amit stating that he can neither promote nor release the film until the arbitrator decides on the issue.
Moreover, writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, who scripted the original, also moved the Bombay High Court fighting for intellectual rights of the remake. Legal issues delayed the release of "Zanjeer".
Latest buzz is that the legal troubles in connection with the film's release have been resolved. The film's trailer is expected to get released by the end of this month. Promotional activities will likely begin in July.
On the other hand, south actor Dhanush has taken the lead over Ram Charan Teja with his debut flick "Raanjhanaa" getting released on 21 June.
Directed by Aanand L Rai, "Raanjhanaa" has Bollywood lass Sonam Kapoor playing the female lead. The film's trailer has generated a lot of buzz among film buffs. Celebrities including Amir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor have appreciated the actor's works in "Raanjhanaa".
But, it has to be seen if Dhanush who achieved national fame with "Kolaveri Di" will be able to break the south Indian jinx in Bollywood.
"Whatever one may say, the fact remains that he has to break the stereotype attached to actors who come from down South. He has to quash the jinx that heroes from South don't get accepted in Hindi films. He is unconventional to the core and that should work in his favour," a source told Glamsham.
"Aanand has already done quite well with another actor from South, Madhavan, in TANU WEDS MANU. He had already done a few Hindi films before though. The challenge now is for Dhanush to make a mark."
Aanand is said to have been impressed with Dhanush's performance. Interestingly, the two will be working together for a Tamil-Hindi bilingual next year. Dhanush confirmed the news and tweeted that the film will be jointly produced by himself under his wunderbar films banner and Anand.
