Producers lock horns over Telugu remake

MUMBAI: Despite producer Boney Kapoor's claims to the contrary, actor Jeetendra's cousin, Nitin Kapoor, is remaking Telugu hit Bommarillu in Hindi.

The producer of Bommarillu, Venkataramana Reddy aka Dil Raju, confirmed the same in a telephonic conversation from Hyderabad. "Bommarillu is my fourth Telugu production under the banner of Sri Venkateswara Creations, Hyderabad. The film, a family drama was written and directed by Bhaskar and stars Siddharth, Genelia D' Souza, Prakash Raj, Srinivas Rao Kota and Jayasudha. The film, released on 9 August 2006, was a hit at the box-office. On 20 September 2006, the Hindi and other north Indian language remake rights agreement of the film were signed and sealed in favour of Nitin Kapoor, managing director of Alright Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad," he says.

Raju has produced Telugu films like Dil (2003), Arya (2004), Bhadra (2005) and is currently filming an action-thriller Munna. The film, being directed by Vamsi Paidipally, features Prakash Raj, Rahul Dev, Ileana and Prabhas.

Kapoor has earlier produced Mera Pati Sirf Mera Hai in 1990. The film featured Jeetendra, Rekha, Radhika and Anupam Kher. Directed by Manobala, the film was a remake of Telugu hit En Purushan Thaan Enakkum Mattum Thaan, released in 1989.

Nitin Kapoor, who is currently in Hyderabad, says, "I found it amusing when I read newspaper reports saying Boney Kapoor would be remaking Bommarillu. According to my information, Boney has acquired the remake rights of Telugu film Pokiri which stars Mahesh Babu, Ileana, Prakash Raj, Sayaji Shinde and Ashish Vidyarthi. The film, written and directed by Puri Jagannath, was released in April last year. It's disheartening to note such a false claim being made by a respected filmmaker like Boney Kapoor. I am already working on the remake, which will be directed by Priyadarshan. I have instructed my advocate to issue notices in film trade papers regarding the issue."

Boney Kapoor, however, is unperturbed. "I have already put a public notice in film trade magazines regarding the acquisition of rights of this film last November."