New Jai of Sholay is 6'3" tall, very intimidating personality

Shubha Shetty-Saha, DNA

Friday, December 01, 2006

Ram Gopal Varma has roped in a rank new comer to play the character made famous by Big B in ‘Sholay’

He prefers just being called Raj and he’s the new face that Ram Gopal Varma has decided to cast as Jai in his version of ‘Sholay’. Ramu says, “I took an audition for the role. I wanted someone who looked like he is made for the role and Raj seems like just the right person.”

Ramu says Raj, who stands tall at 6’3”, has a very intimidating personality. “When he enters a room, he fills it up. You can’t escape his presence,” he claims. Ask him what Raj has that Mohit doesn’t and Ramu simply says, “It is all related to the character, the way it is written. It might not be seen in someone who might have done 50 films, but might be seen in someone who’s raw. In this sense, I felt Mohit did not fit the role.”

Amitabh Bachchan had played Jai in the original ‘Sholay’. In Ramu’s Sholay, Ajay Devgan will be playing Veeru and Amitabh Bachchan will play Gabbar Singh.