by Subhash K Jha

It's the season of remakes. After Amitabh Bachchan as Gabbar Singh in Ram Gopal Varma Ka Sholay and Shah Rukh Khan as Don, it's Salman Khan's turn to get into a a remake.

In David Dhawan's adaptation of Manmohan Desai's Amar Akbar Anthony , Salman khan will be cast as the irrepressible street-smart Anthony Gonzalves, the character that Amitabh Bachchan took to dizzying heights of fame with the comic drunken act in front of the mirror and other priceless antics.

Says David, "I don't intend to make any changes in the character of Anthony Gonzalves. That characters is untouchable. Just wait and see what Salman does with it."

While Vinod Khanna's Amar from Manmohan Desai's kitschy classic will be played by Salman's sibling Arbaaz, the third Khan brother Sohail dons the role of Akbar played to joyous perfection by Rishi Kapoor in the original.

David laughs when I refer to the cast as gimmicky. "I've worked with all three brothers. You wait and see what I do with them in AAA. In any case the cast was decided by the producers Ramesh Taurani. There's still a long way to go before we actually finish casting. I need to sit down and re-write the film. Right now I'm too busy with with Partner featuring Salman and Govinda."

Amar Akbar Anthony isn't the only classic remake that Salman is taking on. He's also been finalized for a new adaptation of Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam where Salman stars as a lonely alcoholic wife's arrogant zamindar-husband. Salman had his heart set on the role ever since he heard about this Pritish Nandy production.

The actor has met up with director Rituparno Ghosh in Mumbai. The two have hit it off and are looking forward to working together