And to help him in this endeavour he wants Kareena Kapoor to play the role of the soap-selling salesperson Deepti Naval immortalised in Chashme Buddoor.
"I've already sounded off Kareena for another film. I feel she has a terrific sense of comedy. I'd like to tap that. My take on Chashme Buddoor would follow the original in principle. But the times have changed. My script would incorporate those changes," adds Onir.
The constant barrage of angst that Onir had to take on in his first two films had begun to take its toll on the young filmmaker's psyche.
"I needed to lighten the load. It wasn't easy making those two films. It's then that I thought of my former boss Sai Paranjpye. I had assisted her when she made the environmental film Papeeha. And when Studio 18 (the filmmaking concern who lately put out films like Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd and 1971) approached me with the idea of doing Chashme Buddoor, Sai Paranjpye was on my mind. Given my heavy state of mind everything fell into place," he says.
Onir has now put plans of doing Shakespeare's Hamlet on the back-burner. He says, "It would've been another psychologically and emotionally wrenching experience for me.
But let me say, I'm not jumping on to the remake bandwagon. I'm doing Chashme Buddoor because it's one of my all-time favourite films. This would be my homage to my mentor."