'They have messed up the film!'

Director Dharani, who made the highly successful Dhil, is angry.

Dum, the Hindi version of his Tamil hit Dhil, is a flop in Hindi.

Dharani, who saw Dum at a theatre the day it released, says, "They have messed up the whole film."

"Initially, I felt bad they didn't give me credit for my story," he says. "After I watched the film I am happy they didn't. The scenes which had great impact in Tamil had no impact in Hindi. That was because they changed them without reason. The casting was bad. The father was the worst character I have ever seen in my life. Vivek Oberoi is an extraordinary performer but he was not used well at all."

According to Dharani, Dhil was not a film about a hero but about the making of a hero. That was where the Hindi film faltered. In the Hindi version, the protagonist became a hero in the beginning. That is why the film flopped, he says. "You can make changes but it should be at the right level. Changes can be made without disturbing the pulse and story of the film. The theme of Dhil is universal. There is nothing called a story for South India and another for North India. Why is it that Titanic is such a big hit in America and also in rural India? Because of the universality of the theme."

Now that Dhool, also starring Vikram, is a bigger hit than Dhil, he has received offers for the rights to remake the film into Hindi and Telugu.

He says he will be careful this time. "I would do it in Hindi and Telugu but only if I get the starcast I want. If not, I won't do it. I will give the story to somebody else. I will direct the Telugu version if I get Pavan Kalyan to do the role Vikram did in Tamil. In Hindi, I would like to have Aamir Khan. He is the only person who can do justice to the role. Nobody else. It will be like Bhuvan, the villager from Lagaan, coming to Mumbai. If Aamir is not available, I will not direct it."