Samir Karnik to direct sequel to ‘Dus’

For those who enjoyed Anubhav Sinha’s 2005 sleeper-hit, the global crime thriller Dus, there is news.

Dus producer Nitin Manmohan has decided to make a sequel. However, Dus 2 won’t be directed by Sinha, but by Samir Karnik instead. Apparently, producer Nitin Manmohan who has been on the look-out for an appropriate director to make the Dus sequel broached the subject with Karnik when they were shooting Yamla Pagla Deewana, the film that Nitin Manmohan produced and Karnik directed.

Says a source, “Nitin wondered aloud now the Dus plot could be taken forward. Within five minute Karnik had a story idea.”

The fast-paced 2005 espionage thriller had starred Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Suniel Shetty, Zayed Khan, Pankaj Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty. The sequel which begins shooting at year-end would have most of the original cast returning for an enthusiastic encore, barring obviously mother-to-be Shilpa Shetty who, we hear, will be replaced by Deepika Padukone, as the role requires a tall athletic actress who can do kick ass stunts.

Confirming his participation in Dus 2 director Samir Karnik says, “Nitin Manmohan has asked me to make a sequel to Dus. I am very excited because the action thriller is a new genre for me.”

Interestingly, a year after Dus, Anubhav Sihna was supposed to make a sequel entitled 11. But Sinha couldn’t crack a plot.

Karnik also confirms that most of the earlier cast would be repeated in Dus 2. “Otherwise, phir koi mazaa nahin hai sequel ka. Nowadays films are titled as sequels but have no bearing plot-wise and in terms of characterization to the earlier film. Then why call it a sequel? Dus 2 would be a bonafide sequel to Dus.”

About the other details for the sequel Karnik says, “Right now, I’m breathless trying to put the release of Char Din Ki Chandni in place. As soon as that’s done Nitin Manmohan and I will finalize all the details of Dus 2.”

Interestingly, Nitin Manmohan was the producer of the film called Dus in 1997 which was shelved after its director Mukul Anand died.