Mumbai, 30 July (PTI): In a first for Indian filmmaker Karan Johar, he will be co-producing a remake of a south Indian masala film "Vettai".

"Vettai" is a 2012 Tamil action film directed by N Linguswamy. The original film starring Arya, R Madhavan, Sameera Reddy and Amala Paul was a huge hit.

"I was very impressed with 'Vettai' when I watched it, but I didn't know UTV was involved in it. I have now partnered with them for the Hindi remake. We will soon announce the name of a young actor, who will fill the slot of a true-blue action star," filmmaker Karan Johar said in a statement Tuesday.

The original film revolves around two brothers - the elder being sensitive to violence and the younger being a jobless rogue. After the death of their father, a police officer, the elder brother takes on the same job.

"The film will have a lot of heroism, humour and great scope for music. It's going to be a commercial potboiler and one of the few films with a pan-India appeal," Karan said.

The Hindi version of the film has been making news for some time now. Earlier, gossip mills were abuzz that Linguswamy himself would direct the film and it would star Shahid Kapoor in the lead. Then there were reports that Abbas-Mustan would direct it with Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham playing the central roles.

"We are in discussion with a couple of directors and actors. Things should be finalised sooner rather than later," Karan said.