Mumbai, January 25: If Kamal Haasan had his way, superstar Shah Rukh Khan will be the only actor to step into his shoes for the Hindi remake of Gautham Menon's Tamil film "Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu".
Shah Rukh is currently in a dilemma as he has to choose between the remakes of two Tamil films - "Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu" and A.R. Murugadoss's "Ramanna".
Both offer the picky King Khan a chance to do something he hasn't done before -- a south Indian remake with parts that he hasn't tried before.
"While Murugadoss's film casts SRK as a social crusader, Menon's film casts him as a cop, a role he has played just once in Shashilal Nair's 'One 2 Ka 4' and that too a plain-clothed cop. SRK has never got a chance to get into khaki uniform. This, 'Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu' will let him do," said a source.
Haasan, who played the role of the cop on the lookout for a serial killer in the original movie "Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu", has expressed keen interest in Shah Rukh reprising the role in the film's Hindi version.
"Kamalji is extremely fond of Shah Rukh. They go back a long way to the time when 12 years ago Shah Rukh agreed to do Kamalji's 'Hey Ram' free of cost.
When director Gautham Menon, who understandably respects Kamalji's opinion, asked the thespian who should play his role in the Hindi remake, Kamalji promptly gave Shah Rukh's name," said a source close to the project.
Menon confirmed his eagerness to cast Shah Rukh and said: "I don't know where these reports of Salman Khan being an option for 'Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu' are coming from. It's Shah Rukh Khan, who is the first and only choice. Kamalji played the part in the Tamil original. So Shah Rukh seems the right candidate for the part."
There is another reason why Salman was eliminated early from the race to play the cop in Menon's film.
Salman has already done the khaki bit several times over.
"Shah Rukh in khaki is a novelty. Salman has been there and done it many times. Shah Rukh is our man for the part," said the source.
Apparently, "Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu" will explore the same dark noire cop-killer space as Aamir Khan's "Talaash".
A source close to the project says that the only reason Shah Rukh has not given a final nod to Menon's remake is because he wants to see how "Talaash" is received by the audiences.
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