Amitabh Bachchan to reprise the role of Kabuliwala

French-Afghan filmmaker Atiq Rahimi is in plans to cast Amitabh Bachchan in a film based on Rabindranath Tagore’s popular story an Afghan dry-fruit seller and his love for a little girl whom he takes as his daughter. Though the story has been adapted a number of times for the big screen in the past, at least two versions of the tale have been made famous in films. Now, comes a third version. It is said that Bachchan will reprise the role of the Kabuliwala made famous by Balraj Sahni in the film that is to be shot in Kolkata and parts of Afghanistan next year. Though Bachchan is a veteran in the field of acting, people in the trade feel that it wouldn’t be easy for him to fit into the shoes of Sahni who had earned kudos with his performance as Rehmat Khan and also that of Bengal’s veteran actor Chhabi Biswas’ interpretation of the same. Although Bachchan has played an Afghan in Khuda Gawah, it is with Kabuliwala that he will get to show off just why he is called the ‘superstar’ of Indian cinema. Meanwhile, Bachchan has been honoured by the Australian government for his remarkable contribution to the Indian cinema, which is celebrating its centenary year. Commented the veteran actor on his blog, "Another recognition by the Australian Government and its Commission here in Mumbai, in celebration for the 100 years of Indian Cinema, and my contribution towards fructifying the relations between the two countries... I am most humbled.” Last year, Bachchan was felicitated with an honorary doctorate by the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.