Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan the writers of the 1973 Zanjeer took offense to the remake being attempted. Having sent a legal to the producers, Akhtar insists that even though remake producer Amit Mehra is the son of original producer and director Prakash Mehra, he doesn’t have the right to remake the film.
"He did not have the right to remake the film. He did not have the right to make in other language. And now that they are making in Telugu and Hindi….for remaking it they have to take our permission, they have to take license from us. Besides, they are making certain changes in the script. We have not surrendered our moral rights to the producer, we have never done so. So they cannot make it without our permission," said Akhtar to the media.
"We have sent them a notice but we really hope they will solve it. We hope the problem will be solved amicably. And we can sit across the table and decide it. If not, then we will have to take another step," he added.
The writers have also asked for a large reimbursement for remake rights. "Royalty is another issue, it has nothing to do with this," said the writer and lyricist.
