/> Even as the versatile and virile Raj Kumar Santoshi puts together his Ajay Devgan-Priyanka Chopra project London Dreams to start in August the ambitious filmmaker is already planning the next project.

Taking a breather from the intense research and pre-production work Raj explains, "I'm doing a large-screen version of the Ramayan. It won't be just another mythological interpretation of the oft-repeated tale. My Ramayan will present the characters like never before.

Rama so far has been depicted as a gentle pliable soul But heck, he was a true mard, a real man who had the guts to give up his kingdom to live up to an ideology. My film will reflect the Ramayan and its hero as an ageless moral fable."

The scripting is being done jointly by Santoshi and Anjum Rajabli who has written some of the prolific directors best works in the past including the under-rated Lajja.

In fact Lajja had a bit of the Ramayan in the bits where Madhuri Dixit playing Sita on stage was put through the agni pariksha by 'Rama' Samir Soni.

Raj Santoshi smiles, "Funny you should remember that. Yes, I feel the interpretation of the Ramayan has so far been very theatrical. I want that to change with my Ramayan. I want to look at the epic as a mirror of life."

The project, to be produced jointly by Santoshi and Que Sera Sera will be made at an estimated budget of Rs 80-100 crores. "It will an English-Hindi bi-lingual on the scale of King Kong and The Lord Of The Rings. In fact we're roping in the people behind these two Hollywood films for our Ramayan"

Santoshi 's Ramayan starts filming early next year.

In the meanwhile the hunt for the right cast is on.

"Rama is specially tricky casting," sighs Santoshi. "I need an established Bollywood actor who can take India's biggest hero through various stages of his amazing life. But I can't have my Rama stripping for a centrespread or dancing and brawling at a disco.

Every member of the cast, whether it's Rama, Sita or Ravan will be bound by a contract stipulating their conduct both off and on screen during the time when the Ramayan is filmed."

Santoshi's visionary qualities as a filmmaker have surfaced like never before. "I've never been more challenged and enthusiastic about any project. It was my ultimate dream to make the Ramayan. Earlier I did a historical The Legend Of Bhagat Singh. But that was not too successful.

We're going to make sure the Ramayan as the ultimate epic, on a par if not better than all the Hollywood spectacles that we go on and on about. Arrey yaar, if they can make a Lord Of The Rings why can't we do a Ramayan?! I want to prove we can do it."