Dhamaka: Ram Madhvani reveals it was Kartik Aaryan's idea to remake the South Korea film The Terror Live

Adapting a movie from a different culture and making it relevant for Indian audiences is challenging, says director Ram Madhvani who was keen to explore the story of a fallen hero in "Dhamaka".

The film, a remake of the South Korean title "The Terror Live", features Kartik Aaryan as a cynical ex-TV news anchor. Aryan's character gets an alarming call on his radio show and sees it as a chance for a career comeback but it may cost him his conscience.

"It is always tough to make it culturally rooted and make it acceptable. It took me a lot of time to figure out how to make it for everyone across all age groups as a family film," Madhvani told PTI.

With Dhamaka, Madhvani said the aim is to offer a take on ambition and what one gains or loses while climbing the ladder of success.

"Dhamaka is about a man who is ambitious and loses some of his value systems and the central question that the film asks is Kya khoya kya paya'. That is for all of us whether it is in a relationship or work-life balance. What are the things that we begin to lose and gain in doing what we have to do? It is about a fallen hero and it is tragic,” he said.

The toughest part was to crack the theme of the movie, according to Madhvani.

“To me, I think of a story in a different way, a lot of people think about the plot, I think about themes. I get scared of plots because everybody is interested in the plot. However, that will be there as we have to make sure the audience is either happy or emotional, but beyond that what am I saying?” he said.

Citing the example of his 2016 award-winning movie Neerja , based on a real incident during the hijacking of the Pan Am Flight 73 at the Karachi airport in 1986, Madhvani said it was not a hijack film but a story about a mother-daughter and how the family overcomes the loss of their child.

“In this case, the title Dhamaka is about the explosion in life, truth, love, etc so there is a certain metamorphosis in the title. It is about 'dhamaka' that happens in the life of the character be it physically or externally or internally,” he added.

The "Aarya" director said he and Aaryan wanted to work together for the last two-three years and it's the actor who suggested remaking the South Korean film The Terror Live.

“We have been conversing about the scripts that we want to make together, one of them was comedy. I am hoping it will happen someday. We were exchanging stories with each other, he had a conversation about this ( Dhamaka') and I felt we could collaborate.”

"It is an adaptation from a South Korean film, it is something that Kartik had shown me and we liked it. We have got our own take on it. It has happened in year’s time from where it started and we shot and we are here, set to release it on Netflix.

When asked about the idea of going beyond the in presenting actors like Sonam Kapoor, Sushmita Sen and now Aaryan in a never-seen-before avatar, the director said the aim is not to reinvent anyone but to collectively create a newer opportunity.

I am not here to reinvent anybody, they are there to reinvent themselves and that's what they decided to do. This was the opportunity for the role and it was up to them to decide.

"I view them (differently) because they gave me some faith, trust and decided 'let's work together' and it is a big thing for me, he said.

Madhvani is making a remake of a South Korean movie at a time when K-dramas and music are gaining huge popularity across the globe.

"I am listening to K-Pop music, which I like and I have seen Korean movies and I would love to visit Korea. It is just this particular subject that we all found interesting to collaborate, he said.

Amruta Subhash, Vikas Kumar and Mrunal Thakur are also in the cast of Dhamaka, which will be out on Netflix on November 19.