'Rambo' needs more prep work: Sidharth Anand

Filmmaker Sidharth Anand says the Hindi remake of "Rambo"with Tiger Shroff is taking time as it requires a lot of preparation for action sequences.

There were reports that the project was shelved but Anand says it is in the pipeline.

"...while Tiger and I were working on these things, another film with YRF came into the picture. For the first lead, we felt Hrithik Roshan was an apt choice. For the second lead I bounced the idea to Tiger," Anand told PTI.

"I told him that if we do this film now, we will have to push 'Rambo'. And we both agreed that we give a little bit of more time to prepare (for Rambo).

As soon as the shoot of YRF film is over, Anand says, the work will begin on "Rambo".

The initial plan is to make "Rambo" into a franchise, but that can happen only if the part one does well, he says.

"We need to bring the first film out and then see if audience wants to watch more of this character or not. It will go on floors by 2019 end and release in 2020," he says.

Anand's last outing was action film, "Bang Bang". Prior to that, he directed romantic films like "Salaam Namaste", "Ta Ra Rum Pum", "Bachna Ae Haseeno" and "Anjaana Anjaani".

"I have always been a romantic-comedy director. But my last film 'Bang Bang' was action and it changed the perception of me as a director. Now I am known as an action director and I am enjoying that. I try to push the envelope as much as I can for the action sequences and bring aesthetics," he says.

Anand is making his TV debut as a judge on Zee TV's popular dance reality show "DID Li'L Masters" alongside Chitrangda Singh and choreographer Marzi Pestonji.

The director says it was a 'no brainer' for him to give a nod to the show as 'DID' is the mother of all dance reality shows.

"It is the first time that a director would be judging the show. Since its inception, the show has been judged by choreographers.