"It is unfair that people object to Salman being Lord Ram," Bunty Walia exclaims. He is referring to his upcoming film production based on the epic, Ramayana. The main objection lies in the fact that Salman Khan is a Muslim and people cannot see him play a Hindu God.

Walia continues, "We have received threats also. But it is important to understand that he [Salman] is an actor first. His religion should not matter. We should not politicise the film."

The film titled Ram: The Legend was incidentally Salman's idea. "Salman told me that we should think of a great period like Lagaan, Devdas and Swades [which is in the making]. We decided on Ramayana and it was but natural for him to play the main character or Lord Ram."

When asked why Ramayana was being made into a film, Walia answered, "We have not had a historical or mythological film made in India for a long time. So we wanted to make one that would be as big as a Hollywood film. It should be on the lines of The Gladiator or Lord Of The Ring. We did not choose Mahabharata because it had too many characters. The film would have become too huge and we did not want that. Ramayana has fewer characters and a proper story, from start to finish."

Though the budget has not been worked out yet, the project is going to be very ambitious. And that is why it has been put on hold for a while, as the makers work out the budget and other details.

Interestingly, some of the 'other details' include chatting up the makers of The Gladiator and LOTR. "We are speaking to the makers of Gladiator and LOTR and asking them for some information regarding the special effects. We want to make a quality film with great special effects, not the stuff churned out in TV," Walia confirms.

The film will go on the floors in 2005.

So far, the rest of the cast, director and music have not been finalised. "But the music will definitely have a classical feel to it," Walia concludes.