Source: TOI
Date: July 16, 2006
Hrithik, Ajay Devgan, or Salman - who's going to appear in the onscreen avatar of Rama in filmmaker Raj Kumar Santoshi's mythological movie?
Who will be kalyug ka Rama? That's the question bothering director Raj Kumar Santoshi who's still looking for the actor who can play Maryaada Purshottam on screen.
The men who top the priority list are Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, and Ajay Devgan. So who would be the right choice to play the role?
Arun Govil, the actor who is best remembered for his portrayal of the benign God, is not willing to hazard a guess.
"It is difficult to predict who out of Salman, Hrithik, and Ajay Devgan would best suit the role of Rama in Raj Kumar Santoshi's film. And anyone might play the role, but a lot depends on how the director and the script writer project the character onscreen."
But is there any chance of these actors getting typecast after playing the role of Rama, as it happened with Govil?
"Nowadays, offbeat topics are appreciated. Even actors are applauded for daring to do something out of the ordinary. I think that seeing Salman, Hrithik or Ajay dressed like Rama, would earn these actors more appreciation from viewers, as it would be entirely different from the roles these actors have portrayed till now."
Apart from Raj Kumar Santoshi's mythological flick, filmmaker Sanjay Khan also wanted to produce a film based on the powerful character of Rama. So who would be his prospective Rama?
"The character of Rama has lots of shades. One has to do a detailed research before bringing this mythological character onscreen. I have a registered script of Ramayana and as soon as the research work gets completed I will begin with my project on Rama. As far as the protagonist is concerned, Hrithik would be Rama and Zayed would be Lakhan in my film."
While it's all in the family for Sanjay Khan when it comes to the cast of his film, his choice has got the stamp of approval from trade analyst Komal Nahta who believes that Hrithik is the apt actor to play Rama.
"Hrithik can play the role of Rama best because he has serene looks and is also younger than Salman and Ajay. Also his caring attitude towards his wife Suzanne would help people to co-relate him with the character of Rama," he avers adding, "Serials are spread over a long span of time during which characters make a deep impact on the minds of viewers. A three-hour-long film may not be able to compete with that." As for who's going to be the protagonist of Santoshi's film - Rama jaane!