While his character in Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017) was seen as a larger than life personality, Rana Daggubati is gearing up for a whole new challenge as he steps into the legendary Rajesh Khanna's shoes in an upcoming remake of the famous 1971 film Haathi Mere Saathi. Directed by Tamil filmmaker Prabhu Solomon, the film is reported to be a trilingual and expected to release on Diwali 2018.
Mumbai Mirror quotes Daggubati as saying, "There’s a very exciting physical language to the character I’m playing in Haathi Mere Saathi and is completely different from what I’ve done in the past. I’ve always wanted to be a part of content that can travel across the country. It is a rare story about the relevance of nature in our lives, narrated through a wonderful relationship between a man and an elephant. Prabhu Solomon’s passion for nature and elephants makes him the finest craftsman in the country who can handle a story like this."
Interestingly Haathi Mere Saathi, which released in 1971, was directed by another Tamil filmmaker, MA Thirumugam. The classic Bollywood hit was one of the early works of writers Salim-Javed who later formed one of the most celebrated duo of screenplay writers Hindi cinema has ever seen. Starring Rajesh Khanna and Tanuja in the lead roles, Haathi Mere Saathi became the biggest box-office hit of the year, and was one of the most talked about films of the 17 consecutive hits Rajesh Khanna gave between 1969 and 1971.
Solomon has already worked with the subject of elephants in his previous works. The director's Kumki (2012) highlighted the relationship between a mahout and his elephant. His other two films, Mynaa (2010) and Kayal (2014), also portray the subject of man's true relationship with nature.
The same report also quoted the director saying, "They are intelligent and magnificent creatures that humans can take a cue from when it comes to living, thinking and love. It will be quite exciting for me to shoot the film simultaneously in multiple languages for the first time."
The remake which will offer high doses of VFX and will be produced by Eros International's Trinity Pictures. It will go on floors in Thailand in January.