I've re-written '3 Mistakes...' for film: Abhishek Kapoor

By Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, June 9 (IANS) "Rock On!" director Abhishek Kapoor is looking forward to wielding the megaphone for the screen adaptation of "The 3 Mistakes Of My Life", but says his cinematic take on Chetan Bhagat's novel will be a dramatic departure from the book.

"I've completely re-written the novel for the screenplay. It's been an exhausting process," Kapoor told IANS.

According to him, "Rock On!" was a completely original script, while "The 3 Mistakes Of My Life" is a derivative.

"It's not about degrees of originality. It's about what grabs my attention. And this is the film I want to make next," he said.

Kapoor has just finished scripting the film and will start shooting early next year. Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, who facilitated his acting debut with "Rock On!", are once again producing his film, but it will not star Farhan.

He is aware of the heightened expectations from him after the success of "Rock On!". The film that also starred Arjun Rampal, Luke Kenny, Purab Kohli and Shahana Goswami besides Farhan not only got critical appreciation but hit the bull's eye at the box office.

"I'd love to (work with Farhan again). But I don't see him fitting in as any character in 'The 3 Mistakes Of My Life'," he said.

Bhagat has written three bestsellers till now - his first book "One Night At A Call Centre" was adapted by actor-turned-director Atul Agnihotri. Titled "Hello", the film was released last year but the Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif- starrer turned out to be a box office dud.

Director Rajkumar Hirani of "Munnabhai" fame is making a film on Bhagat's "Five Point Someone". Titled "3 Idiots", the film stars Aamir Khan in lead.