By Subhash K Jha

Apart from Metro, no episodic film has done well in India.

From the sensitive Life Mein Kabhi Kabhie to the hard-hitting Darna Zaroori Hai to the intruigingly under-rated Salaam-e-Ishq (which became 'slam'-e-ishq in the hands of cynical critics) films telling various segmented stories in one assorted bouquet have crashed unceremoniously, and never mind if Crash, the film that triggered off the episodic wave in Hollywood.

While Sanjay Gupta puts together his super-ambitious 10-storey film Dus Kahaniyan.

drector Samir Karnik has taken off on a Bharat Yatra involving 3 episodes and one on-going episodic theme featuring Sohail Khan and Vatsal Seth which binds all the episodes together.

While one episode features Salman Khan and Preity Zinta, another brings together the odd pair of Mithun Chakbraborty and Dino Morea.

But it's the third episode that's been kept under wraps.

It brings together the real-life brothers Sunny and Bobby Deol once again after Apne. Karnik's proximity to Bobby is well know. He has worked with him in two films so far.

But this is his first film with Sunny, and therefore critical.

Going by the rather sad and sorry fate of episodic films in Mumbai, will Mera Bharat Mahaan perform any mahaan feat?

Preity Zinta who plays a very unusual role in the film is all for it. "You watch, Mera Bharat Mahaan will change the course of episodic films. I've just twenty minutes of playing time with Salman. But whatever we have, we had a blast shooting it."