Rohit Shetty to direct Pocket Money, based on the Hindi play Uncle Samjha Karo

Calling the shots: Rohit Shetty

The Hindi play Uncle Samjha Karo, which was staged in the city three years ago, is big-screen bound. This comic caper is being produced by Kumar Mangat (No Smoking, Omkara) and will be directed by Rohit Shetty (Golmaal).

Onboard

Says Mangat, “At the moment, we are in the scripting stage. The film is not an exact replica of the drama but loosely inspired by it.

The writers associated with the play are also on board for the screenplay. The film will be titled Pocket Money, not Uncle Samjha Karo. Things will roll in the next four to five months.”

The drama was produced by Nirav Parekh and written-directed by Paritosh Painter along with Balwinder Singh Suri —- both are also scripting the film, and have also worked together in Indra Kumar’s Dhamaal. Sajid Khan and Robin Bhatt are also on the team of writers for Pocket Money.

Buzz is that the makers are keen to pencil in leading B-Town stars like Govinda. Besides a character actor assaying the role of the uncle, the film will have two main heroes.

But Mangat refutes the buzz. “We have not done any casting at all. Only once the script is ready, we will sign the actors,” he says.

Trivia

It is also learnt that the rights of the script were initially with Keshu Ramsay, who wanted to cast his son Aryeman in the film.

Incidentally, Uncle Samjha Karo is based on Dinyar Contractor’s English play Whose Wife Is It Anyway? which was staged in the city a decade ago.

What is Uncle Samjha Karo about? Rohini Banerjee, Vrajesh Hirjee, Niharika Chaturvedi, Manav Gohil, Shweta Kawaatra and Balwinder Singh Suri in Uncle Samjha Karo The play opened in November 2003 and also showed abroad. A laugh riot about mistaken identities with plenty of twists and turns, it had a jobless bachelor, his stingy uncle and a host of other characters on whom the youngster depends on for survival. Besides stage regulars Vrajesh Hirjee, Darshan Jariwalla, Niharika Chaturvedi, Rohini Banerjee and Balwinder Singh Suri, Manav Gohil and Shweta Kawatra made their theatre debut with the play. The play portrayed the telly stars in roles distinct from their screen personas.