MUMBAI: Director Sajid Khan is all set to transport cine-going audiences back in time, with his upcoming film ‘Himmatwala’. ‘Himmatwala’ is a remake of the 1980’s superhit film, which had Jeetendra and Sridevi essaying the lead roles way back in 1983.

And now, 30 years later, Sajid is ready to recreate the magic of ‘Himmatwala’, this time with Ajay Devgn and Southern actress Tamannah playing the leads. We caught up with the band of boys from ‘Himmatwala’ at a promotional event in the city…

At the Radio Mirchi studios in Mumbai, Ajay looked cool as a cucumber in a pair of light blue denim jeans and a blue printed shirt. The macho star was seen accompanying his director Sajid Khan, as he held forth on all things ‘Himmatwala’. Music composer-duo Sajid-Wajid were also present at the promotional event. Strangely though, the film’s heroine Tamannah was absent from the promotions.

When we wondered aloud why the lead actress was nowhere to be seen, Sajid was quick to clarify: “Tamannaah is shooting for a film in the South and we believe the lesser she is exposed in front of the media before the release (of ‘Himmatwala’), the better for the film.” Ah, so this is all part of a strategy, we sighed in relief. God forbid a tiff between heroine and director: how would we live that down?

In other news, it seems Sajid is hell-bent on recreating the 1980’s with elan and perfection. It is no small wonder then that the austere director recently stalled the shoot of ‘Himmatwala’ for a while because he was not able to find the right leather jacket. The jacket was to create the perfect retro look for the hero, but Sajid couldn’t find just the right ensemble and so he had n choice but to stall the shooting until a unit hand returned with the ‘right’ leather jacket.