Abhishek Bachchan to play poet Sahir Ludhianvi

It is Abhishek Bachchan or no one else for producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali as far playing poet-thinker-activist the legendary Sahir Ludhianvi is concerned. The project to be directed by Jasmeet Reem which was initiated five years ago, is all set to be revived with Abhishek Bachchan and only Abhishek Bachchan in the lead, and here is why: Amitabh Bachchan. A source very close to Bhansali says, “In Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhie played a fictional version of Sahir Ludhianvi. The whole romance in the film between Bachchan and Raakhee Gulzar was based on Sahir Ludhianvi’s love for author Amrita Pritam. Sanjay Bhansali is of the firm belief that no other actor but Abhishek is suited to play the young Sahir.” Priyanka Chopra was supposed to play Amrita Pritam. But she is no longer part of the project. Incidentally Irrfan Khan was very keen to play Sahir Ludhianvi. Irrfan once mentioned it to me, “I am waiting to play Sahir. I am looking forward to playing Sahir. I don’t know whether I am the best choice for the role. But I do know that I am willing to invest my entire time into getting it right. I am a huge Sahir fan. Before him, romantic songs were written in a particular way. Then this man came along and completely changed the idiom and style of romantic expression.   Incidentally Irrfan Khan was very keen to play Sahir Ludhianvi. Irrfan had told me, “I am looking forward to playing Sahir. I don’t know whether I am the best choice for the role. But I do know that I am willing to invest my entire being into getting it right. I am a huge Sahir fan. Before him, romantic songs were written in a particular way. Then this man came along and completely changed the idiom and style of romantic expression. Maine tumse hi nahin sabse mohabbat ki hai, he wrote for a film called Didi. Sahir wrote a poetry that expressed the hope and aspirations of generation that came after independence. Now we have accepted the defeat of that hope and the biggest defeat is our acceptance of the foreign model of existence.”