Bheja Fry 2 was announced by director Sagar Ballary after the first one was declared a hit, and is scheduled to roll out next year. “I have not yet read the script, but I am very much part of the project,” says Pathak, whose acting career got a fillip of life after the favourable response from Bheja Fry.
The sequel is also likely to have on board Ranvir Shorey and Rajat Kapoor, who were also seen in lead roles in the first part, though the details are not yet finalised. “Offers have been pouring in. My criteria are that the script and my character have to be very good,” says Pathak, who was last seen in Rajat Kapoor’s Mithya early this year.
Pathak, along with Shorey, successfully filled the vacuum of powerful ‘character actors’ in Hindi movies over the last few months, as they became more sought-after.
Post Bheja Fry, the former was seen in critically acclaimed films like Johnny Gaddar and Manorama Six Feet Under. The actor even bagged a role in Yash Raj Films’ Aaja Nachle (though Pathak gave a memorable performance, the movie turned out to be a box-office dud). “Thankfully, I am now in a position where I can select my roles and avoid repetitive ones that can make me stereotyped as an actor,” adds Pathak who will next be seen in films like Via Darjeeling, Mumbai Cutting, Sourabh Shukla’s Raat Gayi Baat Gayi and a Warner Brothers film by Ajoy Varma.
The sequel will be co-produced by Ballary, whose second film Kaccha Limboo is currently under post production. While Bheja Fry, made on an unbelievably low budget of Rs 60 lakh, was the Hindi remake of the French film Le Diner de Cons, the sequel is supposed to be based on an original script. “It will be on a much bigger budget. The film will have a lot of outdoor and action sequences,” says Ballary. “And it can’t happen without Vinay Pathak.”
