Image Source - Masala.com

It has now been officially announced that actor Shahid Kapoor will play the lead in the Hindi remake of ‘Arjun Reddy’. The remake will be helmed by the film’s original director Sandeep Vanga. ‘Arjun Reddy’ will be adapted in the language by producers Murad Khetani and Ashwin Varde who had also backed ‘Mubarakan’ last year.

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Earlier a lot of speculation was going on in the last few months about who will be cast in the lead role in this remake. Initially, there were talks about Varun Dhawan doing it but he couldn’t give dates to this project. Post that, discussions were on with Ranveer Singh but even he couldn’t accommodate the film in his packed schedule. Arjun Kapoor who had been part of  ‘Mubarakan’, was keen on doing this film, but the producers roped in Shahid Kapoor for the same as they felt he is apt for the role. (Also read: Bhushan Kumar to now bankroll Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Batti Gul Meter Chalu’)

But Shahid came in with his own demands, “He was right out of ‘Padmaavat’ for which he got paid around Rs 10 crore for his performance. With the film becoming a huge success with over 300 crore domestic Box Office earnings, Shahid wanted a hike in his pay. He asked for a hefty sum of Rs 12 crore for this remake but the producers refused to budge. Post that there were lot of discussions between Shahid and the makers of the film. Eventually, Shahid settled for Rs 8 crore,” said a source close to the development.

Apparently, now 8 crore is the amount that Shahid is being paid for the ‘Arjun Reddy’ remake.