With all the excitement over Sanjay Dutt’s look as the menacing Kancha Cheena in Agneepath, B’townies and fans have been wondering if Hrithik Roshan’s portrayal of Vijay Deenanath Chauhan will be overshadowed. Not so, says producer Karan Johar, adding that the character of Vijay as played by Hrithik has undergone a transformation from the time Amitabh Bachchan took it on in the original. “Amitji’s portrayal was not that of an underdog,” points our KJo. “Amitji was a certain age when he played Vijay. In our film, it’s a much younger character, an underdog. And when this underdog rises against this impactful, large, big, scary villain — that’s when you feel the triumph of the hero.”
KJo adds that reviving Amitji’s Vijay was never part of director Karan Malhotra’s plan. “Karan has played this very intelligently…you cannot emulate what has already been established. The idea was to deconstruct Agneepath, make Vijay the underdog, so that when he emerges, you feel the high.”