Mumbai: Director Ram Madhvani on Tuesday said he hopes his upcoming film “Dhamaka”, which is the Hindi retelling of the South Korean movie “The Terror Live”, is a good adaptation that lives up to its source material.
“Dhamaka” is billed as a human drama thriller that follows the story of an ambitious ex-news anchor Arjun Pathak, played by Kartik Aaryan, who is given another chance to go live on prime-time television when a terrorist calls him with a bomb threat.
When asked about “Dhamaka” bearing similarities to “The Terror Live” (2013) and if adapting Asian films is a riskier proposition today as people have access due to streamers, Madhvani said it was all about doing justice to the original film for him.
“How many times have you seen ‘Ramayana’ and Shakespeare’s plays? There are some stories worth telling again and I feel those adaptations make sense as they allow us to reach a whole new generation,” the director, who has co-written “Dhamaka” with Puneet Sharma, told reporters here at the trailer launch of the upcoming film.
“There is perhaps a sense of excitement when you watch something again. It also depends on whether it is a good or bad adaptation, we hope it is a good adaptation. We respect the work that has come to us and it is very different,” Madhvani added.
It is about the perspective of a filmmaker about a story, pointed out Aaryan.
“… there is a cultural difference too when you Indian-ise it. Every filmmaker has a point of view,” the actor said.
Madhvani said “Dhamaka” is “not about journalism”, but the media serves as a backdrop in the plot.
“We have seen photographers standing for two-three hours without food and water and it is an incredible job that you are doing.
“It is a human drama story. It’s an emotional story… about an ambitious man and about the things that you gain and lose as you climb the ladder of success,” he added.
Actor Mrunal Thakur, who essays the role of a journalist in the movie, said starring in “Dhamaka” has been a dream come true moment for her as she was pursuing journalism before entering the glamour world.
“I always wanted to be a crime journalist. As an actor working with Ram, I gained that opportunity to work with him because he is my dream director to work with. The minute I got this opportunity I wanted to make it work.
“As a journalist there are several responsibilities about field reporting. So I saw a lot of videos and did research, we had workshops. It’s a very tough job. Everyday was risky but this role was very important for me to discover many things. The dream that didn’t get fulfilled in my college, it happened through ‘Dhamaka’,” she added.
Also starring Amruta Subhash, “Dhamaka” is set to premiere on Netflix on November 19.