Salman Khan’s ‘Veer’ inspired by Nikolai Gogol’s ‘Taras Bulba’

Spicezee Bureau

Mumbai, July 04: In case you have branded Bollywood heartthrob Salman Khan as a brawny lady killer with a volatile temper, buzz has it that your favourite actor has an intellectual side too! Amazed? Well, according to the latest B-town gossip, news has it that Salman Khan’s latest period drama ‘Veer’ is heavily inspired from Russian literature. ‘Veer’ is based on celebrated Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol’s ‘Taras Bulba.’ ‘Taras Bulba’ is a story of the Cossack king Taras and his two martial sons Ostap and Andriy, who embark an epic journey and fight with the Polish. According to a source, “‘Veer’ has all the swashbuckling elements that Salman enjoys watching in a film and he is sure that the audience enjoys it too. He discussed the idea with his director-friends and eventually asked Anil Sharma to make ‘Taras Bulba’ into a Hindi film with Mithun Chakraborty as the patriarch and Salman and Sohail Khan as his two brave sons.” Interestingly, this gives us a deep insight into Salman’s love for world literature. News has it that Salman is an avid reader who loves indulging in books. It is believed that Salman has read Hindu scriptures and would like to act as Rama in a movie based on Hindu epic ‘Ramayana’. When enquired Anil Sharma on ‘Veer’ based on ‘Taras Bulba’, the director said, “It’s not exactly Taras Bulba, though some characters and relationships may be similar (to the book). Veer is a period film based in India in 1870.” Well, Salman has been credited for Veer’s story. Confirming the reports, Anil said, “Yes, it is Salman’s story, which he wanted to make into a film for a long time."