'Vikram Vedha', 'Ishq' deserve to be shared on national level: Neeraj Pandey on Hindi remakes

Filmmaker Neeraj Pandey, who is producing the Hindi remake of south hits "Vikram Vedha" and "Ishq", says such "exciting" stories deserve to be shared on a national level.

The 2017 Tamil blockbuster, "Vikram Vedha", a neo-noir crime thriller featuring R Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi, is being remade in Hindi by Neeraj under his company Friday Filmworks.

The filmmaker is also producing the remake of 2019 Malayalam romantic thriller "Ishq", starring Shane Nigam and Ann Sheetal.

"Our movies are also being made in the south, so it is not a new thing. Both the films that we are actively chasing -- 'Vikram Vedha' and 'Ishq' -- are phenomenal and we felt the films should be shared on a national level and that is why we are planning to make them in Hindi.

"Primarily the stories are exciting, it is not a question about the language. These are exciting stories and that is why we chose to say it on a bigger scale, to a bigger audience," Neeraj told PTI.

For the "Vikram Vedha" remake, he is collaborating with producer of the original film S Shashikanth and Reliance Entertainment.

There have been reports that the Hindi version of "Vikram Vedha" will feature Saif Ali Khan and Aamir Khan.

Neeraj didn't comment on the casting but said an announcement on the cast and crew will be made soon.

Director and writer duo of the original film Pushkar-Gayatri are attached to direct the Hindi remake, the producer added.

Inspired by the Indian folktale Baital Pachisi, the film tells the story of Vikram (Madhavan), a police inspector who sets out to track down and kill Vedha (Vijay), a gangster. After Vedha voluntarily surrenders, he tells Vikram three stories which change the latter's perception of good and evil.

Neeraj said besides "Ishq", a number of films are in line for production.

"We are doing multiple projects as producers, which are likely to go on floors very soon after we all get over the coronavirus crisis. We will see how it all pans out," he said.