Producer Murad Khetani, known for backing films like Mubarakan, Kabir Singh and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, says his Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal is a “larger-than-life visual spectacle, packed with heroism”.
Billed as a crime drama, Animal is directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who made his Hindi directorial debut with the 2019 Shahid Kapoor-starrer blockbuster Kabir Singh which was a remake of his 2017 Telugu hit Arjun Reddy starring Vijay Devarakonda.
The upcoming movie also stars actors Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, and south sensation Rashmika Mandanna alongside Ranbir.
“It is a challenging film. But we have a great team. Sandeep has written the story and he narrated it to Ranbir and Anil Kapoor, they liked it and agreed to come on board. It has action, emotion, heroism, larger-than-life visuals. We have our director and actor Rashmika from (south region) and we will release it there,” Khetani told PTI.
Produced by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series, Khetani’s Cine1 Studios and the director’s brother Pranay Reddy Vanga’s Bhadrakali Pictures, Animal is set for a release on August 11, 2023.
Aside from Animal, Khetani is now working on the Indian adaptation of Mircale in Cell No. 7, a critically acclaimed Turkish drama released in 2019. The film, directed by Mehmet Ada Oztekin, tells a love story between a mentally ill father who was wrongly accused of murder and his six-year-old daughter. He claimed that after seeing Mircale in Cell No. 7, he fell in love with the film and began the process of acquiring the rights to it.
“It is a challenge to adapt the film for the Indian audience because the film was made based on its own culture and milieu. It is important to adapt it in the right way. We are working on the script,” Khetani added.
The producer also revealed that he has bought the rights to Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit’s 1988 iconic film Tezaab. The action-romance film was produced and directed by N Chandra and featured chartbuster tracks like Ek do teen, Keh do ke tum and Sogaya ye jahaan.
“We have the rights of Tezaab. We are working on the script and then we will approach the director and producer,” he said.
Khetani is enjoying the success of his most recent film, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. The horror-comedy starring Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani and Tabu, which was released on May 20, has grossed Rs 164.71 crore in 22 days. The film is a follow-up to the Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan-led psychological horror-comedy of the same name released in 2007.
The producer said there are plans to take the Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise forward with the third part.
“We have got so much love and acceptance from the audience, so we will definitely take it ahead. It will take time and we will have to work on the script a lot. The story of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has to be better than the second part. There is more responsibility,” he added.
