Prithviraj Sukumaran, the actor, director and producer, will co-produce the Hindi remake of his Malayalam film Driving Licence, in association with Karan Johar, according to a Pinkvilla report.
This project will mark Prithviraj’s debut production venture in Bollywood. Earlier, it was reported that actors Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi will be starring in the Hindi remake of the 2019 Malayalam film.
Prithviraj’s home banner Prithviraj Productions, which is headed by his wife Supriya Menon, had co-produced Driving Licence. Starring Prithviraj and Suraj Venjaramoodu in the lead roles, the Malayalam comedy-drama, directed by Lal Jr and written by Sachy, was produced in association with Listin Stephen’s Magic Frames banner. After a successful theatrical run, the film had its digital premiere on Amazon Prime Video.
As per the synopsis on the streaming platform, Driving Licence follows superstar Hareendran (Prithviraj) who is well-known for his driving skills and craze towards motor cars. Kuruvila Joseph (Suraj), a motor vehicle inspector, is a die-hard fan of Hareendran. To complete the shoot of his latest film, Hareendran needs to submit his license, which has gone missing, and to get a new license urgently, he goes to Kuruvilla.
A source told Pinkvilla that when Johar approached the makers of Driving Licence, Prithviraj expressed his interest to back the Hindi remake with Johar. “The two eventually decided to join hands on this star-studded project,” the source added.
The Hindi remake will see Kumar reuniting with director Raj Mehta and Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions after their earlier collaboration, the 2019 comedy-drama film Good Newwz. The remake will also mark the first time actors Kumar and Hashmi appear onscreen together.
An unnamed source earlier told Bollywood Hungama that the remake will include some changes in the screenplay to suit the Bollywood audience.
Kumar is expected to essay the role played by Prithviraj, while Hashmi will reportedly reprise Suraj’s role. The Hindi remake is planned to go on floors in January, with a start-to-finish 40-day schedule in the UK.
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Kumar also has two other remakes in the works: Bachchan Pandey, based on the 2014 Tamil film Jigarthanda, and Cinderella, a remake of the 2018 Tamil psychological thriller Ratsasan. The actor, who was last seen in Bell Bottom, also has a slew of other projects, including Sooryavanshi, Atrangi Re, Prithviraj, Raksha Bandhan, Ram Setu, and Oh My God 2, in various stages of production.
Hashmi, who was last seen in Chehre, also has a handful of films in the pipeline, such as Dybbuk, Gangubai Kathiawadi, and Tiger 3.