KJo buys Oopiri remake rights

Even as the latest Telugu blockbuster, Nagarjuna-starrer Oopiri creates waves across Andhra Pradesh and beyond, Karan Johar has purchased the remake rights for the Hindi version.

Oopiri itself is a remake of the French film The Intouchables, which is about the warm camaraderie that develops between a wheelchair-bound billionaire and his male caregiver.

Speaking exclusively two days after the film’s release, Nag says, “I am glad that Oopiri and its Tamil version Thozha have been warmly accepted. We wanted the film to be seen as a celebration of life and for the audience to understand how valuable every moment is.”

It was Nag’s wife Amala who had seen the French film first, and recommended it to her husband. “Like all good things in my life, Oopiri also happened because of my wife,” he says.

Nag says the film’s theme must be taken to Hindi audiences. “I am really happy Karan Johar bought the remake rights. Would I be in the Hindi film? I don’t know. That’s up to Mr Johar. I am just happy to have done the two versions in Telugu and Tamil.”