/> Should the hero die at the end of Mani Shankar's intriguing and authentic espionage drama Mukhbiir?

That's the question which currently haunts the film's Hyderabad-based producer and director.

While director Mani Shankar feels the dark film and its doomed hero must perish, producer Sudhish Rambhotla is adamant on a happy ending.

Says Rambhotla, "The 19-year old hero goes through a series of truly tragic experiences when all he wants is a normal teenager's life. It would be too much for the audience to go away from the film with the protagonist's death.

We must end on a note of hope. I've seen what has happened to recent films with tragic endings like Mani Rathnam's Yuva, Ahista Ahista and Priyadarshan's Kyun Ki. We're going through unhappy times.

Audiences want a cathartic experience in the cinema hall. I don't want our fledgling film production company Color Chips to start on a depressed note."

Director Mani Shankar explodes at the thought. "A film must end logically, especially a film like Mukhbiir which is a very authentic look at the workings of the government informers—young helpless boys who are picked up, trained, let loose in dangerous terrorist organizations as spies, and then eliminated at convenience.

Though I've shot a happy ending at the producer's insistence, I squirm every time I look at it. This is a crucial film for me, and for my hero Sammir Dattani who has given what I think is a career-making performance.

Mukhbiir will make Sammir a major star. But for that we need to be reasonable in the conclusion."

At the moment the producer and director seem to have come to an impasse with both insisting on their viewpoint.

Leading man Sammir Dattani feels the director's vision to be correct. "I think a film is the director's medium, and we should respect that."

Will the film be able to extricate itself from the fate of a frozen finale in time for a Diwali release?