The Telugu maverick director S S Rajmouli releases his Telugu smasher Eega in a Hindi, 3D version done specially for the Hindi release around Diwali. Interestingly, Son Of Sardaar is a remake of Rajmouli’s other Telugu superhit Maryada Ramanna. So essentially Rajmouli would be competing with himself this Diwali. But the question now is would the Rajmouli remake be able to stand up to the unexpected competition from the Rajmouli original? South’s phenomenal filmmaker S S Rajmouli whose Telugu blockbusters were recently turned into Rowdy Rathore and the forthcoming Son Of Sardaar, and who refuses to be lured by lucre into making Hindi films, is all set to make a grand backdoor entry into Bollywood. The Telugu film Eega about a villainous tycoon (Kannada actor Sudeep who was seen in Ram Gopal Varma’s Phook, Rann and Rakta Charithra) who kills the beloved of the girl he covets only to find his life been turned into a living hell by the dead beloved reincarnated into a fly, is heading towards becoming one of the biggest successes of Indian cinema. Eega which is breaking all box office records world over is now being a turned into a 3D format especially for a Hindi release. When one contacted the film’s leading man Sudeep, he confirmed the secret Bollywood plans for Eega. “We’ve already done the entire dubbing in Hindi and now the 3D work will start. The film has loads of special effects in 2D. Turning it into 3D for the Hindi belt is definitely going to add to Eega’s appeal.” Sudeep has dubbed in his own voice in Hindi. “I’ve dubbed my own lines in Hindi for the Hindi version of Eega. I had done so without any accent in Ramu’s Rann. It was Bachchan Saab who during Rann had urged me to dub my own lines because a lot of the impact of a performance comes from the voice.” Interestingly, Sudeep’s next release entitled Bachchan in Kannada has him playing a diehard Amitabh Bachchan fan. “I’ve adopted the whole Angry Young Man persona from the Big B in Bachchan. He has influenced so many generations of actors, me included.” But it’s Ram Gopal Varma to whom Sudeep owes his career. “He gave me a break early in my career. Then he brought me into Hindi films. The ‘R’ factor plays a very important part in my life Ramu, Rann, Rakht Charithra, Rajmouli…” Sudeep is now all set to return to Mumbai to promote the Hindi 3D version of Eega. “So far I haven’t been able to travel anywhere to see the impact of Eega. In the interiors of Andhra as well as far-flung countries abroad the film is a rage. How does one explain its popularity? I’ve no clue. But it has taken my career to another level. For the first time I don’t feel being a regional actor I am being short changed. Eega would work in any language. And we’re sure it would be a phenomenon in Hindi as well. And we aren’t bothered by the competition.” Speaking about the role of the fly-tormented killer in Eega Sudeep says, “I don’t think anyone except Rajmouli could have thought of it. With every film project he is like a child with a new fancy toy. I had to ‘act’ with the fly when there was no fly on the sets. All the scenes featuring my tormentor were put in later through special effects. This is a film in the Walt Disney tradition. I had to shoot pretending the fly was getting into my skin. We had to work out the exact points where the fly would sit on my cheek, my hand my nose and I had to pretend it was there. It’s tough enough acting with a fly. But acting with an invisible fly?” Sudeep kills all talks of an in Eega sequel. “Rajmouli has moved on. He has a million ideas to execute. But the success of in Eega is very difficult to leave behind. We’ve offers for Hindi remakes from several production houses in Mumbai. But we’ve instead decided to convert the Telugu film into Hindi. With the 3D incentive.” a It remains to be seen which film takes the Diwali lead. The Rajmouli original or the remake.