Gentleman Arjun wages a war in Hindi! The filmmaker debuts in Yudh -- The War Has Begun

Gautam Hegde

Tamil actor-filmmaker Arjun will soon star in a bilingual film (Hindi and Tamil), Yudh -- The War Has Begun, with Sharad Kapoor, Chandrachur Singh and Deepti Bhatnagar. The film is directed by Sunil.

The actor earlier starred in Shankar's blockbusters Gentleman [the Hindi remake starred Chiranjeevi and Juhi Chawla], and Mudhalvan [Nayak in Hindi, starring Anil Kapoor and Rani Mukherji], among other popular films like Vedham and Rhythm,

At a recent launch party in Mumbai for Yudh, Hindi cinema icon Amitabh Bachchan, in a starched white kurta-pyjama, introduced Arjun as an intense young actor with good performances.

A nervous Arjun, dressed in a brownish green suit, touched Bachchan's feet, and confessed that after Bachchan's words, he felt more burdened and responsible.

Speaking to rediff.com, Arjun admitted, "I have worked in over 100 films in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Nevertheless, I feel like a newcomer. I am not very fluent in Hindi, but I should be well acquainted within a month or so."

He continued, "I am also a producer-director in the South. My directorial venture Ezhumalai, (starring Arjun and Simran) releases May 24."

His experience as a director might prove helpful to his Hindi film, he says. "There is bound to be a give and take of suggestions, and I am sure the director will listen to my ideas too."

Well aware of delays in Hindi cinema, Arjun laughs, "From what I have heard, Hindi films take a long time to complete, so I really don't know when Yudh will be ready for release. I was offered Hindi films earlier, but I liked my character in Yudh. My character, Rajput cop and fiercely patriotic Arjun Pratap Singh, is disillusioned with the system and turns a rebel to wipe out evil."

Not much different from southern heroes like Rajnikanth and Chiranjeevi playing cop roles, you say. "I think it is too early to say that my character is cliched. You will know my character is different only when you see the film."

The film is produced by Suresh Bafna, whose Thodasa Pyaar, starring Rahul Bhatt, is 80 per cent complete. Bafna said, "I know the director and found the script interesting. It talks about a remedy to extortion. We have already shot parts of the film which do not have Arjun. We will shoot with Arjun soon. The film will be shot at various locales in Rajasthan and Ooty."

Yudh is director Sunil's second film. "My first, Jeetenge Hum, starring Arbaaz Khan, is not yet released. Yudh is about victims of extortion who turn rebels and take revenge."

Sanjeev Darshan [Mann, Deewane] have scored the music for Yudh. Chunky Pandey, director Madhur Bhandarkar and actor Rahul Bhatt, who do not star in the film were present at the launch.