Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan admits to a "Who, me?" response when Ram Gopal Varma suggested he play Veeru in the "Sholay" remake - but is now excited about the role.

"At first, my response was 'Who, me?' But then, Ramu can be so persuasive. I decided to go along with any decision that he takes," he told IANS.

Veeru, for those who came in late, was the character that Dharmendra essayed in the original "Sholay". Abhishek's father Amitabh Bachchan played Veeru's bum chum Jai.

So wouldn't it have made more sense to cast Abhishek as Jai?

Ramu avers: "Not at all. I certainly don't want to go by predictable patterns of casting... Not in any of my films and certainly not in 'Sholay', where one false casting manoeuvre can ruin the entire equation.

"See, Abhishek playing his dad's role is just what audiences expect. If I do that I might as well go the whole hog and cast Sunny or Bobby as Dharmendra's son, Esha Deol as Basanti and Amjad Khan's son as Gabbar Singh," he maintained.

"No, the idea is to stay many steps ahead of audiences' expectations.

Abhishek as the extroverted talkative comic Veeru strikes me as perfect.

We've already seen Abhishek do the brooding intense silent act in 'Sarkar'.

I think a role where he needs to expand on his real-life personality is just what's required.

"I've seen how good Abhishek is playing the comic gregarious soul in 'Bunty Aur Babli'. As Veeru I'd get him to move ahead in the same devilishly mischievous direction," the director added.

So, is the new Veeru excited about being in "Sholay"?

"Who wouldn't be? It's one of the greatest films ever made. This time, I'll get a chance to stand opposite dad. That should prove quite a challenge," Abhishek said.

He is currently shooting for Ramesh "Sholay" Sippy's son Rohan's "Bluff Master", which again gives him a chance to be funny, irreverent and mischievous. This would be his next release, at the end of the year.

Abhishek's upcoming roll call:

"Antar Mahal" (Bengali) with Soha Ali Khan, "Bluff Master" with Priyanka Chopra, "Dhoom 2" with Rimii Sen, "Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna" with Rani Mukherjee, "Sholay" and "Sarkar 2".