NEW DELHI: Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who considers Gulzar his 'guru', is not in favour of remakes as such, but if he had to go down that road, he would love to pick the veteran writer-director's evergreen films "Angoor" or "Ijaazat".
At an event here earlier this year, Mehra had mentioned he would "love to remake Gulzar bhai's works with his permission".
On being prodded about which of Gulzar's works would he like to remake, Mehra told IANS: "'Angoor' definitely, and 'Ijaazat'. It's closer to me, and I would love to do it."
Has he asked Gulzar yet?
"I don't have the courage for that yet, or that foolishness. I am foolish, but not that foolish. But one day I will ask him. 'Ijaazat' ke liye ijaazat lunga (I will take his permission of 'Ijaazat' some day)," Mehra said, adding a lyrical thought to it.
Mehra worked closely with Gulzar for "Mirzya".
"Ijaazat", released in 1987, is about an estranged couple who accidentally meet in a railway station's waiting room and revisit their past. It stars Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha and Anuradha Patel.
Whereas, "Angoor", which came out five years earlier, remains one of Bollywood's most popular comedy dramas starring Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma in dual roles.
For now, Mehra, who turned a year older on Saturday, is excited about his forthcoming movie "Fanney Khan", the trailer of which released a day before his birthday.
Featuring Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Rajkummar Rao, the movie features the former Miss World playing the role of a pop singer, while Anil plays the father of an aspiring singer who himself loves singing and music and who wants his daughter to live his dream.
Mehra had told IANS that the movie makes a statement on body shaming that women face.
"Fanney Khan", which reunites Anil and Aishwarya on-screen after 17 years, will release on August 3.