A Shankar quirk is that he tends to be wary of casting megastars.

"When someone sees my film, I want him to see the character, get involved with the character and the story. I don't want him to see a megastar, I don't want the star to overshadow the character."

The original Tamil version had a lineup that reads: Arjun, Manisha Koirala, Raghuvaran, Manivannan, Vadivelu in the lead roles. The Hindi version, in the same sequence, reads: Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukherji, Amrish Puri, Paresh Rawal and Johnny Lever.

Crew members talk of the enormous enthusiasm shown by the cast. And repeatedly ask you to watch out for Paresh Rawal who, as one member says, has turned in a 'darling performance'.

But the one drawing all the raves is Anil Kapoor. "That man is incredibly dedicated," says Anand. "He takes infinite pains. He is a director's actor all the way."

And he will do whatever it takes. The earlier portions of the film, for instance, include a couple of spectacular fights. So Anil spent time in intense body-building activity.

"What really amazed me," recalls Anand, "was this scene we shot in a slum." The unit went locale hunting to find a suitable rabbit-warren of tenements. Dharavi, of course, was top of the mind. "But when we went there, we found that most of the huts there had televisions and things, some even had air-conditioners -- and the scenes required a backdrop of absolute squalor.

"So we finally found this slum in Kurla. And believe me, it was so incredibly bad, so cramped for space, so sadly filthy, I couldn't even think of setting the camera down.

"It is not like we all come from rich families -- the reverse is true. It is not like we are not used to poverty. But this particular place was really bad. With the best will in the world, you couldn't help holding your nose at the stench. You couldn't, at times, keep your face expressionless.

"Through it all, Anil Kapoor was amazing. He was the one who had to wade through all that. And he stayed focussed on what he was doing, what was required -- the angles, the shots, the expressions. No wrinkling of the nose, no reluctance, none of the expressions you get when top stars find themselves in the midst of squalor. His focus is amazing, really."

The film, shooting for which is still on, is slated for a July release.

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