It's Himesh vs Ananth for 'The Xpose' sequel

Himesh Reshammiya and Ananth Mahadevan

Actor-producer Himesh Reshammiya and director Ananth Mahadevan are not stopping at celebrating the box office success of their latest release, 'The Xpose'.

Himesh Reshammiya in 'The Xpose' and (right) Ananth Mahadevan

They are already thinking ahead by planning to start work on a sequel to the film. But it has emerged that they are on different tracks.

HImesh Reshammiya wants the sequel to remain true to the mystery thriller zone while continuing with the character Ravi Kumar, which takes inspiration from yesteryear star Raaj Kumar. He wants to take the '70s era story forward from where he left it in the first film. On the other hand, Mahadevan wants to make it a Rajesh Khanna biopic where he wants Himesh Reshammiya to play the star.

Says a source, "Himesh wants to reprise Ravi Kumar's character because he thinks that the thriller zone has worked for him once and it will work for him again. Along with Ananth, he wants to announce the sequel at the film's success party."

So to end the deadlock, it seems that both have decided to get the two scripts written. "They will then decide which of the two will be a worthy sequel to take the franchise forward," says the source.

When contacted, Ananth Mahadevan confirmed the news.

"It's true that we are developing two different scripts. Himesh will be accepted a hundred times more as Khanna. Although Ravi Kumar has won many people over and taking his story forward is the easiest and safest option I have, I would go with the biopic than 'The Xpose' sequel."