Even as the latest Telugu-Tamil blockbuster Oopiri-Thozha with Nagarjuna and Karthi in the lead creates waves in Chennai and beyond, there is news of Bollywood’s biggest producer-director Karan Johar having purchased the rights for a Hindi remake.
Interestingly, Thozha is itself a remake of the French film The Intouchables, which depicts the warm camaraderie that develops between a wheelchair-bound billionaire and his male caretaker.
Speaking exclusively two days after the film’s release, Nagarjuna said, “I am so glad that Oopiri and its Tamil version Thozha have been so warmly accepted. We wanted the film to be seen as a celebration of life. We wanted the audience to appreciate the gift of life and to understand how valuable every moment is. I couldn’t ask for more.”
It was Nag’s lovely wife Amala who had seen The Intouchables first, and recommended it to her husband. “Like all good things in my life, Oopiri also happened because of my wife,” quips Nag.
Nag says Hindi audiences will appreciate the film’s theme. “I am really happy Karan Johar has bought the remake rights. Would I be in the Hindi film? I don’t know. That’s up to Mr Johar. I am just happy to have done the two versions in Telugu and Tamil. Our message has connected with the audience. For me that is important,” he says as a concluding note.
