The Nation's Answer To James Bond

After Dabangg, Salman Khan is supposedly facing an interesting proposition. The actor is in a bid to revive India's first spy, Gunmaster G9, most likely to be directed by director Nikhil Advani.

Played by Mithun Chakraborty in the 1979 classic Surakshaa, Gunmaster G9 was the nation's answer to James Bond, famously played by actors Sean Connery and Roger Moore.

In an interview to HT Cafe, Salman Khan stops short of spilling the beans. He says, "I watched a lot of Mithun (Chakraborty) movies while growing up. Gunmaster G9 is my favourite character. Nikhil, in fact... (sic)."

Director Nikhil Advani doesn't deny the news, but says that he will get back on it in a week: "I am currently busy with the post production of Patiala House (his forthcoming film with Akshay Kumar and Anushka Sharma). I really cannot comment on this right now." It is but clear that both Khan and Advani are in talks to remake India's true-blue cult James Bond, Gunmaster G9. Mithun Chakraborty played this role in the '80s in the films Surakshaa (1979) and Wardat (1981).

Cult indeed

The 1979 movie Surakshaa was a hit and Gunmaster G9 became a somewhat cult character. Directed by Raveekant Nagaich, the movie starred Chakraborty, Ranjeeta and Suresh Oberoi with music by Bappi Lahiri.

With the budget of a B-movie, the flick had car chases, villains with calculators fixed to their metallic hands, which emit deathly radio signals, dancing go-go girls, voodoo rituals, kung-fu, romance and signature Mithun dance moves on the disco floor.

Chakraborty feels that if there is anybody who can do justice to the remake, it is Salman Khan. "I don't know if the film is being remade, so I don't know what to say about it. Salman's personality will do justice to the role," says Chakraborty. Khan says he is a fan of Mithun movies. "Disco Dancer, Taraana... I loved all these movies. I think he is a rock star," he says.