Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone to Star in Bollywood Remake of ‘The Intern’
Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone will star in the Bollywood remake of Warner Bros.’ “The Intern.”
Bachchan replaces the late Rishi Kapoor who was due to star in the project alongside Padukone, but died in 2020.
Directed by Nancy Meyers, “The Intern” (2015) collected $194 million globally.
Bachchan (“Gulabo Sitabo”) and Padukone (“Chhapaak”) will play the roles enacted by Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro respectively in the original.
T 3864 – One more time .. Indian Adaptation of #TheIntern. Looking forward to working with @iAmitRSharma @deepikapadukone @warnerbrosindia @SunirKheterpal @AthenaENM @_KaProductions @ChromePictures @DenzD @Sen_Aleya @hemantchrome @gauravbose_TVW pic.twitter.com/HgjflGWGYb
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) April 5, 2021
The film will be directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma, whose previous film “Badhaai Ho” (2018) was a hit with $39 million worldwide.
It will be produced by Sunir Kheterpal for Athena and Padukone via her KA Productions. Co-producers include Aleya Sen for Chrome Pictures, Hemant Bhandari, Sharma and Gaurav Bose.
The adaptation is by Akshat Ghildial (“Badhaai Ho”) and Mitesh Shah (“Tumbbad”).
“The Intern” is part of an ongoing agreement between Warner and another Kheterpal entity, Azure Entertainment, to identify, develop, produce and distribute Warner titles for Indian audiences. Another upcoming collaboration under the deal is an Indian version of Hong Kong’s “Infernal Affairs” film trilogy upon which Warner’s “The Departed,” directed by Martin Scorsese, was also based.
In 2019, Azure enjoyed box office success with “Badla,” a remake of 2016 Spanish hit “The Invisible Guest.” It was co-produced with Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, and starred Bachchan and Tapsee Pannu. The company is also working on other remakes, including Thai hit “Bad Genius” and French film “A Gang Story.”
“Badhaai Ho,” a comedy drama focusing on late life pregnancy, has been remade in Indonesia as “Keluarga Slamet.” A sequel “Badhaai Do,” starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar, is in the works.
Sharma’s sports drama “Maidaan,” starring Ajay Devgn, Priyamani, Gajraj Rao and Rudranil Ghosh, is set for an Oct. 15 release. It is produced by Zee Studios, Boney Kapoor, Akash Chawla, and Arunava Joy Sengupta.
