I’d love to see Alia-Varun cast in Hum Aapke Hain Koun remake: Renuka Shahane
Actor Renuka Shahane, the beloved Bhabhi of Hum Aapke Hain Koun, says that if the film is revisited, she would want to see Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan play the roles that had Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan.
It has been 23 years since actor Renuka Shahane played the role of a doting daughter, loving bahu, and everyone’s favourite bhabhi in Sooraj Barjatya’s romantic comedy Hum Aapke Hain Koun…! Even today, it is her best remembered role.
Following the successful remakes of big hits from the past — recent examples are Judwaa 2 and Ittefaq — we ask Renuka about her thoughts on a remake of Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!, which remains one of Bollywood’s milestone movies. Renuka says, “Revisiting Hum Aapke Hain Koun would surely bring something different this time around. If it’s remade for the younger generation, I think they’d like to see the characters in a modern sort of way.”
Stating that the film, which had Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lead roles, would still be relevant, Renuka adds, “Hum Aapke Hain Koun is a very family-oriented film, where everyone loves each other. It started this whole plethora of sangeet, mehendi functions at all family weddings. And that has not gone out of fashion yet, so, definitely, a Hum Aapke Hain Koun remake would still work. And I’d love to see Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan play the new-age Nisha and Prem.”
Renuka also points out that with the advent of technology, the Hum Aapke Hain Koun remake would be quite different and exciting. “Now with mobile phones, Facebook and Twitter, I don’t know how the makers would show the whole Tuffy (the family pet in the original film) thing. The climax scene, where Tuffy brings the letter to Mohnishji (Bahl) and he finds out about Nisha’s real feelings for Prem, would not be the same. But yeah, it’s worth revisiting and would be so much fun.”
On whether she’d be keen to play a part in it, Renuka excitedly says, “Oh yes! I am always open to working with Rajshri Productions. It’s like my mykaa [parents’ home]. They are dream producers to work with. Sooraj [Barjatya] is such a fine gentleman.”
However, she is quick to add, “But my character is already dead in the film. So I don’t think I’ll have much to do, if at all there’s a remake. I know it’s sad.”
On the work front, though Renuka has been away from the big screen for quite some time now, she says that she isn’t averse to a comeback in Bollywood. “I’m open to getting scripts where Bollywood is concerned, as long as it suits my taste and the filmmakers are good,” she says. “I have done a film that will release soon and my character is really interesting, something that’s completely different from the image that everyone has of me.”