Is Disco Dancer 2 on cards with Ranbir Kapoor, Allu Arjun? Subhash B reveals

Good things take time, believes Disco Dancer (1982) maker B Subhash. It has been over a two-year wait as he fought a legal battle with Shemaroo Entertainment, which alleged copyright infringement when the filmmaker planned to make a sequel to the popular Mithun Chakraborty-starrer. On August 12, the Bombay High Court ruled in Subhash’s favour, giving him the go-ahead to make the film. Stating that the movie’s Intellectual Property Rights always rested with him, Subhash tells mid-day, “Disco Dancer is my creation. In 2011, I entered into a business agreement with Shemaroo for certain limited video and satellite rights. However, I always retained the creative rights to my film. The court has vindicated my stand. I hold the creative and authorial rights to Disco Dancer.”

B Subhash

With the legal battle behind them, Subhash and co-producer Nitin Kumar Gupta are now forging ahead to tell the story of Disco Dancer 2. The 1962 hit revolved around Chakraborty’s street singer Jimmy, who becomes a famous disco star. Expectedly, the new edition too will have dance and music at its centre. Subhash has a wish list of stars who can pick up the baton. “I would love to have either Ranbir Kapoor or Allu Arjun in the lead role, as both are great dancers and actors. We will ask KV Vijayendra Prasad to write the story and screenplay. He was writing it until Shemaroo filed the case against my co-producer and me. I may direct the movie, but the final decision will rest with the actor who is cast as the lead.”

Mithun Chakraborty in ‘Disco Dancer’. Pics/AFP, X, Instagram, Youtube

Co-producer Gupta reveals that they had shortlisted some ideas with veteran screenwriter Prasad. The idea, he says, is to retain the original’s core while telling a new story. “Disco Dancer was the story of a poor boy who was accused of stealing, and how he fought against a business tycoon. This one will also be an 
anti-establishment story,” he states, adding that a chunk of the narrative will be set in Russia. “We want to shoot in Russia as Disco Dancer has an audience there. We also plan to rope in three or four international music idols, including Russian groups, to compose some songs.”