A lot has been written about the movies that Rajkumar Santoshi and Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi are planning to make on the life and times of Prithviraj Chauhan. But while Santoshi is busy with Family - Ties Of Blood and Saamna, Dr. Chandraprakash has gone ahead and arranged finance for his magnum opus.
"We are all set to roll in September," Dr. Chandraprakash informs me, quashing rumours that the film wouldn't take off this year since the scripting is incomplete, "I am ready with the hardbound script (penned by Dr. Chandraprakash himself, with dialogues by B.M. Vyas, Vipul Mehta and Dr. Chandraprakash)."
To be filmed in Rajasthan in India and also in Russia, there's a strong possibility that the film will be made in two languages simultaneously -- Hindi and English. "We should proudly show our heroes to the world," Dr. Chandraprakash states.
The cast, as of now, is still uncertain. "Sunny Deol will of course head the cast, but the remaining actors are still being considered. We might opt for international actors for certain roles though," he enlightens. There's talk that Dr. Chandraprakash had approached Aishwarya Rai for the film. "Yes, I did have a meeting with her. I also suggested that she can work in both the projects [RKS, Dr. Chandraprakash]. There's a possibility that she might be a part of our film," he adds.
But the startling development is that Dr. Chandraprakash has decided to meet his 'opponent', Rajkumar Santoshi, before he commences filming of the film. Why? "He's a brilliant director who does extensive research on a project before he commences shooting. It's always better to interact with learned people, exchange ideas, keep oneself abreast of what's happening around," Dr. Chandraprakash maintains.
Meanwhile, well-known director Anand Mahendroo is involved in the project in the capacity of the completion guarantor. "I've to ensure that the film is made in right time, right cost and right quality," Anand tells me.
The project has created a lot of excitement and three corporate houses have already shown interest in backing it. Dr. Chandraprakash has also planned to release the script of the film in the form of a book, "The problem with classics is that a lot of people who come to see the film have not read the book, so if a book based on script and dialogues is released before the film the audiences can relate to the film and can understand it properly," he explains. The script might also be published serially in one of the leading dailies. However, Dr. Dwivedi's project does see a threat from Rajkumar Santoshi's project. "I don't understand why have they started taking so much interest in the subject...however I am continuing my work," informs Dr. Dwivedi.