I’d not met or even spoken to David Dhawan when he offered me Chashme Buddoor over the phone. But everyone I knew insisted that I had to work with him because he was an institution with a series of blockbusters to his name, so, I agreed to a meeting. And he turned out to be such a lovely person and the script was so much fun that now, I’m really looking forward to the film,” says Ali Zafar, who will start shooting for the film as soon as he wraps up London, Paris, New York that is currently in its second schedule.

The Pakistani singer-actor, who’s just had a second hit in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, admits to watching the original 1981 film only recently. He saw it before he signed the film and loved it for its simplicity and innocence. “I loved the scene where the guys try to use the Chamku washing powder,” he smiles, completely bowled over by Farooq Shaikh, whose shoes he will be stepping into. “I’m a huge fan of Farooq bhai. He’s in a league of his own as an actor and I don’t think I’ll come anywhere close.”

Younger take
The film has been re-written by the original director, Sai Paranjpye, and Ali, who has just read the final draft, asserts that it’s hilarious. “It’s a different film from Sai’s… Young, a little over-the-top, adapted to modern times and coloured by David’s sensibilities,” says Ali, adding that while the four principal characters (the girl played by Deepti Naval and the three guys brilliantly enacted by Farooq, Ravi Baswani and Rakesh Bedi) from the original remain, a few have been enhanced and two new male characters have been added in the remake.

“This Chashme Buddoor will be contemporary, happening and entertaining.”