The 2005 Tamil film Anniyan directed by Shankar, was a big hit and introduced
Vikram to the northern audience through its Hindi dubbed version Aparichit, which gained popularity on TV. In April 2021, a Hindi remake of Anniyan was announced, starring
Ranveer Singh, with
Shankar directing and
Jayantilal Gada producing. However, by August 2021, the original producer, Aascar Ravichandran, moved to court against Shankar and Gada for planning a remake without his permission.
In July 2024, Shankar confirmed that the remake has been put on hold. Chiyaan Vikram, who played the lead role in the original, shared his thoughts about the remake. When asked if he wanted to see the remake, Vikram jokingly told DNA, "I think you should ask this with Shankar. He should have made part two with me."
On a more serious note, Vikram added, "That's being very ambitious. But on a serious note, I thought
Ranveer would have made a nice Anniyan. I would like to see his version of it because I really like him as a star. I think it would have been interesting to see what he would do with the story."
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In August 2021, Ravichandran expressed his disapproval of the remake and told ETimes, “I am going to court against Shankar and Jayantilal Gada. They cannot make the film without my consent as I own the copyright of the film and no other person has the right over it as I am the author of the movie.”
Shankar responded to this by stating that the script of Anniyan was his creation. However, Ravichandran stood firm, saying, "He can say and claim anything, but everyone knows that ‘Anniyan’ is my movie and I hired him to direct the film.” The original Anniyan was released in 2006, with a Hindi dubbed version called Aparichit.
Ravichandran also mentioned that he was shocked to hear about the remake without his knowledge, saying, "I was shocked that without my knowledge, a remake of the film was announced. It must be the first time that something like this has happened in our cinema."
On work front for Ranveer, he's just announced a big project which sees him alongside R Madhavan Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal among others. This movie is helmed by Aditya Dhar.