Ramu Finds His Basanti
Ignoring strong hints from Hema ‘Basanti’ Malini to consider her daughter Esha Deol as and in the role of Basanti in Sholay 2, Ram Gopal Verma has gone ahead and signed little known Nisha Kothari for the role. Ramu has thrust the mantle of Basanti on a three-movie-old flop actress, despite the fact that Basanti’s role is quite central to the story. Basanti will be known as Ghungroo and not Basanti. And missing will be the quintessential tonga, Dhanno, and the famous dialog: “Bhag Dhanno bhag, Basanti ki izzat ka sawwal hai”. Ramu has moved on with the times and envisaged Ghungroo as a three-wheeler driver, instead. Let us wait and see whether this Ghungroo creates any sound bytes a la Basanti of yore.