Salman and Ali Abbas Zafar to team up again for Bharat, Atul Agnihotri to produce

Mumbai: The debacle of Kabir Khan directorial 'Tubelight' notwithstanding, Salman Khan and his affinity for the festival of Eid, having delivered multiple successes on the occasion, is known to all and sundry.

While we are not aware if he’d release a film during Eid in 2018, with ‘Race 3’, his next film after ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ yet to kick off, the superstar is all set to treat his fans on the festival in 2019.

Salman will star in and as ‘Bharat’, a film that will reunites him with his brother-in-law, former actor Atul Agnihotri, who had produced his hit ‘Bodyguard’, also an Eid release in 2011, according to a report in Mumbai Mirror.

“Bharat (is) a character that I thought would resonate with him. It's a huge responsibility making a film with Salman as there are big expectations that come with the job,“ Atul confirmed the news to the tabloid.

Not just Atul, after working with director Remo D’Souza in ‘Race 3’, Salman will also be reuniting with Ali Abbas Zafar.

It seems Ali, who had directed Salman in ‘Sultan’ and is helming his current ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’, has become his most favourite director.

On why he himself didn't decide to direct the film himself but chose Ali, Atul said, “I feel I contribute better as a producer. Ali is a friend, I love his work and eventually it's all about connecting with the source. If you speak to him, you will realise that Ali is far more passionate about the material.”

The film will be an official remake of 2014 South Korean drama ‘Ode To My Father.’

Atul said, “That film is just the starting point for ours, but since it was an inspiration, we wanted in all fairness to officially own it and acquired the remake rights before going ahead with Bharat.”

He added, “It starts in 1947 and ends in 2000 and is the journey of a country and also a person, both of whom go by the name of Bharat.“

Any possibility of a ‘Bodyguard 2’ happening? “But I wasn't sure I wanted to encash on Bodyguard 2 when I had an opportunity to make another film with Salman. I was looking for something bigger, something with more conviction. At the end of the day, Bodyguard was a formula film. What was beautiful about it was the twist in the climax. Without that we would only be taking the character forward and rather than do that, I wanted to engage in something far more challenging and cinematic.”

With the exception of ‘Tubelight’, all of Salman’s releases like ‘Wanted’, ‘Dabangg’, ‘Bodyguard’, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, ‘Kick’, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ and ‘Sultan’ have been big hits and the occasion holds a special place in not just his or but also his fans’ hearts.

Atul said, “I'm very conscious about Salman's fan base and what they want. And once again, I'm convinced that being a family film Bharat is worthy of coming during the festive time. Anyway, an Eid release is always every producer's preferred choice.”

After Akshay Kumar booked Holi for the release of ‘Kesari’, here’s another festival release date that has been booked in 2019.