MUMBAI: Vickey Kharat is set to remake Sholay in Marathi. However, he claims that his film will be an out-and-out comedy.

“The original Sholay cast a deep spell on our minds. We can’t change that. So I am presenting a serious story in a comic form and it is called Marathi Sholay,” says the director.

However, Kharat isn’t worried about buying the rights to the film as he does not want to retain any elements from the original plot in the remake.

“It’s not a copy. Even if the original makers see it, they won’t have any objection. Although the character names are the same, they all have different professions. In the original, Jai and Veeru were thieves; in this film, they are police officers. And Basanti rows a boat in a lake near her village, instead of riding a horse carriage,” adds the director.

While Siddharth Jadhav and Bharat Jadhav will play Jai and Veeru in the Marathi remake, Ashok Sharaf will play the role of Thakur that was essayed by Sanjeev Kumar. And playing the role of Gabbar Singh would be Makarand Ansaspure.

Kharat, who has assisted Madhur Bhandarkar on Chandni Bar, Satta and Aan: Men At Work, made his debut as director with the Marathi film Thamb Laxmi Thamb (2007), followed by Bhaucha Dhakka last year.

Marathi Sholay is expected to go on the floors in mid-April this year.