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The official Indian remake of Rambo has found Bollywood’s answer to Sylvester Stallone.
Rising star Tiger Shroff (Baaghi, Heropanti) will play the iconic action character in the forthcoming remake, which will be directed by Siddharth Anand (Bang Bang) and co-produced by M! Capital Ventures, Original Entertainment, Impact Films and Siddharth Anand Pictures.
Anticipation for the remake is huge in India, where the casting of the lead character had been a major cause of speculation in the local media.
Principal photography for the film is slated to start in February, with a release targeted for late 2018.
The Indian Rambo will follow the last surviving member of an elite covert unit of the Indian Armed Forces who returns home to discover a war waging in his own land. Forced into the dangerous jungles and frozen mountains of the Himalayas, he unleashes mayhem and destruction, becoming the unstoppable machine he was trained to be.
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The project’s producing team includes Anand, Daljit DJ Parmar, Samir Gupta, Hunt Lowry, Saurabh Gupta and Gulzar Inder Chahal.
“Being a martial artist and a huge action movie buff since childhood, this all seems very surreal, and I’m very grateful for this opportunity,” said Shroff. “By no means do I believe I can replace the legendary Sylvester Stallone; however, I do feel that somehow this is something I’ve been preparing for since childhood.”
Rambo first entered the world in 1982 in First Blood, which made over $125 million worldwide. It has been followed by a number of successful remakes, including the most recent Rambo (2008), which earned $113 million globally.
“Rambo is one of the most iconic action blockbuster films from my generation,” said Anand, who also directed the successful Indian remake ($55 million worldwide) of Tom Cruise’s Knight and Day. “I grew up looking up to heroes such as Stallone, and in a time where the Indian industry is lacking action characters of Rambo’s caliber, this is a perfect time to introduce Tiger in this role.”
He added: “I cannot wait to work with Tiger on this film. He has that aura about him, a power and vulnerability that will make him the next iconic action hero of our time.”
Shroff, a martial arts expert as well as an actor, has been gaining popularity in Bollywood, beginning with his 2014 film debut in the action drama Heropanti, which earned him a Filmfare Award for best male debut. He next starred in the action feature Baaghi, which became a big local hit.
Anand and Shroff are both represented by Jawahar Sharma of Kwan.
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