`Khiladi 786` director to keep don`s biopic real, entertaining

Mumbai: `Khiladi 786` director Ashish R Mohan, who is making a biopic on notorious gangster Babloo Srivastava, says he will try to keep it real and entertaining as expectations have soared after his debut film last year.

Srivastava was a former aide of mafia don Dawood Ibrahim. "This is my second film and considering `Khiladi 786` did well so there are lots of expectations from me. So I am in no hurry to finalise things. The film is of different stature. It is not easy to handle a subject of this nature. One has to stick to realism and keep it entertaining at the same time. This time it is difficult," Ashish said. "I am still writing the script. I think it would take couple of months may be five-six months to finish the scripting part. I want to do full justice to this film, so I would take my own time," he said. The film will chronicle the life of Srivastava on the big screen. "It is a semi-biopic is what I would say. The film would probably have 100 percent or 80 percent or 40 percent of Babloo`s real life story. Since its a film so we will have to make it larger than life," Ashish said. `Khiladi 786`, starring Akshay Kumar and Asin did good business at the box office. And now with the gangster flick, Ashish is deliberately moving towards serious stuff. "As a director I don`t want to stick to a particular genre. I want to try out different things. It was a conscious decision to do a serious film after a comedy. Like Yash Chopra not only made romantic films but action and drama as well. I also want to do make different kind of films and offer audience a variety," Ashish said. Interestingly, Srivastava has a wishlist of actors - who he thinks would be best to portray his life on screen. "Babloo feels Abhishek Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi would be the best one to portray him on screen. But we haven`t met any of the actors yet. Casting would depend on script," the filmmaker said. Srivastava will give the makers an insight into his notorious past. "We are taking his help to get the facts right. He would be involved the way his character should be portrayed on screen," Ashish said. The yet-to-be-titled film will be shot at various locations like Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Nepal, Singapore, Bangkok and Russia. PTI