Amrish Puri as Mogambo in Mr. India 2

I really don’t know what to think because the saga of Mr. India‘s sequel has been on for three years now, occasionally rearing its head with a chirp and subsiding again. In 1996, I heard that Anil Kapoor would produce Mr. India 2, Boney Kapoor would write the script, Nikhil Advani (king of big-budget disasters, the latest being Chandni Chowk to China) would direct, and Sonam Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor would get top billing. Anil Kapoor and Sridevi would play a mature couple in the movie (I am assuming older versions of their characters in Mr. India).

The last chirp, that surfaced in 2008, said that Anil Kapoor would produce, Boney Kapoor would write, Shekhar Kapoor would direct, and Anil Kapoor and Sridevi would play a mature couple in Mr India 2. This time, it was also said that there would be a lot of high-end special effects.
The latest rumor says that Shahrukh Khan is likely to play the role of Mogambo in Mr. India 2. What I don’t understand is that if the sequel is being made, and if it follows from Mr. India, which it is said to do, then there should be no Mogambo.

Because, at the end of Mr. India, Mogambo dies in a fire, pretty unequivocally, saying Hail Mogambo. Unless, in Mr. India 2, Boney Kapoor springs a byblow of Mogambo or a cryonic preservation of his body for later use.

Shahrukh Khan is said to play the role of Mogambo in Mr. India 2

Whatever be the deal, and much as I appreciate Shahrukh Khan, I cannot imagine him play Mogambo’s lost child or his resurrected body. If you remember late actor Amrish Puri, of the bulging eyes and the even more bulging muscles, who played the role of Mogambo in Mr. India, you will know what I am talking about.

So based on the sheer ridiculousness of this rumor, I think this is just another chirp about a Mr. India sequel, that will go nowhere.

Shahrukh Khan is currently involved with his home production Billu Barber that will be released on February 13, 2009. The movie will be directed by Priyadarshan, and will star Irfan Khan, Shahrukh Khan, and Lara Dutta.

Shahrukh is also shooting for Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan, along with co-stars Kajol, Shabana Azmi, and Jimmy Shergill.

Mr. India, directed by Shekhar Kapoor (Masoom, Elizabeth, Bandit Queen, Elizabeth:The Golden Age), was released in 1987. The movie was a super hit, and is a classic Indian fantasy adventure film. The film starred Anil Kapoor, an orphan moonlighting as Mr. India, and Sridevi as a journalist.