/> Who's the most nervous man in Mumbai right now? Madhur Bhandarkar is tense but confident. "I've given my best to Traffic Signal.There are more characters in this film than all my films put together. It comes in the gritty category of Chandni Bar and Page 3.

Unlike Corporate which had an urban appeal I think Traffic Signal appeals across the line. And," he adds shyly, 'It's also my first release after the birth of my baby girl. Hence the most special."

This has got to be a first in this millennium. Madhur Bhandarkar's penchant for realism re-surfaces in his film Traffic Signal. He's shot a traditional Marathi lavni song with all 60 characters of the film participating for the dance.

What's more, the lavni was shot with real practitioners of the art and not the usual item girls from Bollywood.

Madhur reveals details. "I keep remembering all those fabulous lavnis in V. Shantaram's cinema. It's been ages since we had a lavni dance in our films.I think the last truly remarkable lavni was Main mirchi kolhapur ki in Umesh Mehra's Ashanti where Zeenat Aman, Shabana Azmi and Parveen Babi danced.

It was also the last song that Lataji and Ashaji sang together. I wanted that excitement to surge forward in my lavni. My lavni feature all the sixty characters in the film (barring Konkona Sen-Sharma) and the main dancers are real lavni performers—we're trying to work that out."

Madhur now awaits the release of Traffic Signal. " I hope to go into my next film Fashion for UTV early next year. It's going to take me very far away from the street people of Mumbai in Traffic Signal. Fashion is about the ramp-walkers It will be my first film to be shot abroad."

In what could be a career-turning point, Madhur Bhandarkar decided to cast Kalyug's Kunal Khemu as tough street-wise hoodlum in his new film Traffic Signal.

Elaborating on the character Madhur explains, "Kunal's role is as powerful as Tabu's Chandni Bar. It has as many shades. He plays a hoodlum at the signal who collects money from all the beggars and eunuchs."

Kunal has been put through a workshop to prepare for the role. Madhur had the entire schedule, including the running time of the film (2 hrs 10 mins) worked out from the out-set (pun intended). "The entire film was shot in Karjat on a set representing a signal. Obviously we can't shoot on a real traffic signal."

Madhur and his writers observed any number of traffic signals in Mumbai. "Just as we went to numerous beer bars for Chandni Bar. A good story always works. If Page 3 just spoofed the characters it wouldn't have worked. The emotional journey of the characters was what worked for Page 3."

The director never expected Page 3 to work in such a big way. "People laughed at me. They never believed I could pull it off. After Chandni Bar I made Satta and Aan which flopped. Though I'm proud of Satta I was written off.

Tomorrow two other films of mine may flop and they'll bury me and put a cross over my career. ...But I don't care," he sighs. "I've made my trilogy....the first about the cocktail circuit, the second about the business world and the last about the signal culture in Mumbai."

"Page 3 was the underdog of 2005. It was the first hit of the year. I was anxious to prove myself. Would the page 3 circuit come to see Page 3 after attending all the new year parties? They did! I made the film with my heart and soul. My Aan was as honest as Corporate. At least I've the honesty to make the films I want to."

Chandni Bar and Page 3 are Madhur's forte. "People see me as a hard-hitting filmmaker. But I'd love to make an out-and-out hardcore commercial film like David Dhawan's Amar Akbar Anthony.

I'd also like to make a comedy like Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Chupke Chupke," Madhur sighs. "I may or may not be successful. But I'll make the films I believe in."