Ajay to play emperor Ashoka

The versatile Raj Kumar Santoshi will start shooting his new epic on Emperor Ashoka in January. His other epic on the Ramayan with Ajay Devgan has now been postponed to the end of 2008.

Though he is not saying it aloud, Raj Kumar Santoshi's decision to make a film on the life on Emperor Ashoka with Ajay Devgan in the lead was prompted more by the failure of Santosh Sivan's Asoka than any other consideration. "I am aware of Sivan�s film. He is a fine craftsman. However, my approach and treatment to this fascinating subject will be very different. I want my Ashoka be a happening epic on the lines of Hollywood's Spartacus, Braveheart and Gladiator. Technicians from all over the world are now being finalized," says Santoshi.

Santoshi, a versatile epic maker with films ranging from Ghayal and Lajja to his credit is toying with the idea making the film as a bi-lingual. "Or maybe we could just have English subtitles to the Hindi dialogues since that would look more authentic," Santoshi wonders aloud, as he prepares for the biggest challenge of his creatively fecund career.

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