I did not sign Himesh under pressure: John Mathan

By Subhash K. Jha Oct 13, 2007, 7:45 GMT

Mumbai, Oct 13 (IANS) Himesh Reshammiya is all set to do a new version of 'Raja Hindustani' and director John Mathew Mathan denies he was forced to cast the composer-singer-actor in the film.

'Not at all. I chose Himesh because he suited the role to perfection. In fact, we had a choice of several production companies. But we went to T-Series. So we were under no pressure to sign Himesh,' Mathan of 'Sarfarosh' fame told IANS.

In the original 'Raja Hindustani', Aamir Khan featured as the street-smart ignoramus who falls for the sophisticated Karisma Kapoor. Himesh's intense love story will be a socialistic plea and he will also play a guy from the streets who falls for a very rich girl.

The yet-untitled film would be Mathan's first love story.

'Of course, there were love tracks in 'Sarfarosh' and 'Shikhar'. But both were basically about the erosion of idealism in our society. The focus in my new film will be on just the two protagonists.'

The film will feature a completely new face opposite the composer-singer-actor.

'We've auditioned several new faces and have finally zeroed in on three girls. A final decision will be taken in a couple of days.'

Mathan is surprised at how all the information related to the film came out.

He said: 'I wonder how the details of the film were leaked out. I wanted it to be under wraps until we had finalised everything. So far only Himesh as the leading man and the music composer has been decided.'

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service