By Subhash K Jha

The much-discussed rapport between Manoj Bajpai and his erstwhile mentor Ram Gopal Varma came to a stalemate because apparently, Manoj wanted to play Veeru (the part originally played by Amitabh Bachchan in Ramesh Sippy's Sholay) rather than Samba (the role of Gabbar Singh's main sidekick originally played by MacMohan).

Ramu smiles non-commitally when asked whether Bajpai demanded to play Veeru. "I wouldn't like to comment on whether Mr Bajpai wanted to play Veeru or not. All I'll say is, actors are meant to play characters. I'd never over-cast for any actor's sake.

Anyway I wouldn't like to go into the details about our meeting. I feel it was a confidential private interface between two people. Anyone who has leaked out the details has no idea of ethics or principles....My final word on Mr Bajpai, I had decided not to work with Mr Bajpai.

I gave it a chance. It didn't work out. Now my decision to not work with him is final. As I've said Mr Bachchan as Gabbar is the only casting in Sholay that's indispensable. Manoj and I cannot see eye to eye, ever. I wish him all the best."

The day after his meeting with Manoj, Ramu signed the talented Sushant Singh for Samba's role in his Sholay. "When I met Sushant for Samba's role I suddenly realized how stupid I was to not think of him for the role. We've worked in Satya, Kaun and Jungle but not afterwards. He's immensely talented."

Ramu has expanded on the character since it was last seen in Ramesh Sippy's film. "See when Samba was written I doubt anyone thought it would acquire such popularity over the years in spite of the role being so small.

In my Sholay Samba has a lot more to do because my Sholay is re-located in Mumbai. Samba will be Gabbar's operative arm in Mumbai. I remember there were moments in Sholay where we got a glimpse of the bonding between Gabbar and Samba.

I intend to build on their friendship. There are so many aspects to Sholay that can be examined and expanded on."

Ramu compares Sholay to the Ramayan. "In its re-telling over and over again the characters have acquired a certain legendary status. I want to give my own interpretation. Like Francis Coppola's take on Dracula. He took the blood-sucking vampire and interpreted it in an all-new way.

However my challenge is to steer as close to the original Sholay as possible while interpreting it in my own way. There was a structural difference between my Sarkar and the original source material The Godfather. In Sholay my intention is different. I want to see how an encounter cop taking revenge for the massacre of his family would react in 2006.

Unlike Sarkar which was apart from the Godfather my Sholay wouldn't be very. There isn't a single thing from Sholay that I want to take away. My Gabbar would be an international gangster keeping track of international terrorism.

He will have an opinion on global politics, for example what mistakes the US made in attacking Iraq. It's like this. The original Sholay is a woman in a ghagra-choli. I want to change her clothes and make her walk the ramp. They're both equally beautiful."