Who'll lead Bollywood's first zombie actioner: Hrithik, Ranveer, or Kartik
What's the story
Bollywood stars Hrithik Roshan, Ranveer Singh, and Kartik Aaryan are reportedly in a "silent war" to make Bollywood's "first proper zombie action film," reported PeepingMoon.
All three actors are reportedly working on their zombie action films, independently.
Roshan has acquired the adaptation rights to Will Smith's I Am Legend, while Singh is developing a zombie action film through his own production company.
Notably, while Go Goa Gone explored this genre earlier, it was mostly a horror-comedy, not an action film.
Roshan's project
Roshan's adaptation of 'I Am Legend' is in progress
Roshan, who bought I Am Legend's rights for a staggering ₹12 crore, is working on the project from his own banner.
PeepingMoon reports that Kill director Nikhil Bhat is in talks to helm the film. However, it is unclear where these discussions stand since Bhat is already committed to other projects.
The future of this adaptation also depends on Krrish 4, the fourth installment of Roshan's superhero franchise, which is also in the making.
Singh's venture
Singh and Aaryan also venturing into zombie genre
Meanwhile, Singh is reportedly developing a zombie action film through his production company, which he plans to officially launch later this year.
The actor is said to be putting together a slate of diverse projects, including a mythological action drama supervised by Uri: The Surgical Strike director Aditya Dhar.
Meanwhile, Aaryan has approached T-Series head Bhushan Kumar to develop a mega zombie film that can be marketed as a groundbreaking, genre-defining project.
Trade source
'Creative war' among actors, management teams
A trade source called it a "silent war" between these Bollywood heavyweights.
"It's not just a creative war between these superstars but also a battle between their management teams, each striving to outpace the other for their star clients."
The source revealed, "It's possible that the shared representative agency may have fueled this competitive race."
"Once word got out about a superstar working on a zombie film, others followed suit, leading to this unexpected rivalry."