Rana Daggubati to star in remake of 'Haathi Mere Saathi'

Actor Rana Daggubati is on board to star in the trilingual remake of late actor Rajesh Khanna's 1971 film "Haathi Mere Saathi".

Eros International's Trinity Pictures announced the eponymous franchise will be a tribute to the old classic and will go on floors in January next year, read a statement.

It will be shot in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil with Rana in the lead.

Inspired from true events, the remake will be helmed by Prabhu Solomon.

Filming of the remake will commence in Thailand and then travel to various locations across India.

"There's a very exciting physical language to the character I'm playing in 'Haathi Mere Saathi', something entirely different from what I've done in the past. I've always wanted to be a part of content that can travel across the country, and am very happy that Trinity is backing cinema of this genre," said Rana, whose popularity got a boost with "Baahubali".

"It's a rare story about the relevance of nature in our lives, narrated through a wonderful relationship between man and elephant. This story is definitely another of those rare challenges I'm beginning to enjoy being a part off. Prabhu Solomon passion for nature and elephants makes him probably the finest craftsman in the country who can handle a story like this," he added.

"Haathi Mere Saathi" is slated to release on Diwali.