/> The goody-goody image goes out of the window. Sammir Dattani who plays the title role in Mukhbir, one of the most talked-about films this year, is about to turn bad with a vengeance.

The film Shootout At Lokhandwala which begins shooting on August 1, to be produced by Sanjay Gupta will feature Sammir Dattani in a pivotal role along with an impressive ensemble cast that includes Sanjay Dutt, Urmila Matondkar, Viveik Oberoi, Esha Deol Arjun Rampal, Arbaaz Khan and Tusshar Kapoor.

The rest of the cast for this true-life drama is still being finalized, including some more top of the line names.

Director Apoorva Lakhia was pretty sure he wanted only Sammir for one particular character. "There're no small roles or stars in my film. We've made sure to cast big names in even the smallest of roles because they're all real characters.

Sammir is a catalyst in the plot. The challenge is to make this very good-looking guy look like a mean lean killer. Sammir will play a real-life character named Aslam Kasai. He was a wizkid with knives and died during the shooutout that my film will recreate.

So far Sammir has been cast as the goodygoody romantic lover-boy. I want to change his image completely."

Sammir who plays the title role in Mani Shankar's Mukhbir has already started researching the role. "I've always been a fan of sanjay Gupta's flicks. I think they're very cool. And I loved Apoorva Lakhia's work in Mumbai Se Aaaya Mera Dost and Ek Ajnabee.

I believe Martin Scorcese cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in The Aviator because they really resembled one another. I'd like to think I can look like Aslam Kasai if I work on it.

Playing a mean machine has always been a secret fantasy. And I think Apoorva is a master of makeovers. Look how he made Arjun Rampal look and act in Ek Ajanabee."

Says Apoorva, "That's exactly the point in casting Sammir Dattani. Arjun too was known as a looker. I want to change Sammir's image as much I changed Arjun's image in Ek Ajnabee."

Adds Sanjay Gupta, "We at White Feather truly believe in pitching for talent. Sammir is definitely a bright talent. Apart from Apoorva's film I'm going to cast him in one of the short stories in my Dus Kahaniyan series which will feature Nana Patekar also. We've big plans for him at White Feather."

Says Sammir, "Things are really looking bright for me, touch wood, what with Rituparno Ghosh and Apoorva Lakhia signing me on within a month of one another. I've also been finalized for a very big project to be shot in London with Dr J Murli Manohar (producer of Provoked). Two other projects are about to be finalized in the next month or so. I can't ask for more...on the other hand maybe I can, ha ha."

Sammir's next release is Madhur Bhandarkar's Corporate. "I've a guest appearance in it. It was fun shooting with Minissha Lamba, more fun for her I think. Because she keeps making up stories in the press about these practical jokes that she supposedly played on me during the shooting of Corporate.

None of that really happened. But Minissha is a nice girl. If it makes her happy to imagine stories then I don't mind being the object of her fantasy."