Now Akshay Kumar to play modern-day ‘Gabbar’?

It seems the movement against corruption in India has even Bollywood sitting up and taking notice.

The latest to lend his celebrity status to a film project that delivers such a social message is Akshay Kumar.

The actor will team up with his ‘Rowdy Rathore’ producer, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, once again for their new project titled, ‘Gabbar’.

Clearly playing on the name of Bollywood’s most famous on-screen villain in the iconic ‘Sholay’, this modern-day version, thankfully, does not go down the remake route of Ram Gopal Verma and his ‘Aag’, but rather piggybacks on a Tamilian hit from 2002, titled ‘Ramanaa’.

For the uninitiated, ‘Ramanaa’ narrated the story of a middle-class college professor who loses his family when a faulty construction sees them crushed in the rubble of their home.

When the hands of the law are bought out with bribery, the distraught teacher forms an anti-corruption force to bring such criminals to justice.

With ‘Rowdy Rathore’ crossing the coveted 100-crore or Rs1 billion mark at the global box office, the filmmakers are hoping to achieve a similar feat.

For Kumar, his collaboration with the award-winning Bhasnali, comes right on the heels of the actor’s tie-up with director/producer Karan Johar, on ‘Gutka’.

The next two years are certainly seeing a change for Kumar from films like ‘Joker’ and ‘Housefull’.

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