Tamil star Vikram is not playing the male lead in Mani Ratnam's next Hindi film, but says he is excited to be a part of the movie.

Ratnam's yet-to-be titled film is reportedly an interpretation of epic "Ramayan" and Abhishek Bachchan will be cast as Ram, while Aishwarya will play Sita.

"It is a big thing to be sharing screen-space with Abhishek and Aishwarya whom I know well. The fact that I will play the lead in the Tamil version (of the same film) has thrilled me, " Vikram said.

The National Award winning actor is currently working for Tamil-Telugu bilingual "Kandasamy", which has actress Shreya Saran in the female lead.

Vikram was introduced to filmdom by Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited in 1990. But his career did not take off, forcing the 1966-born actor to take on dubbing assignments in Chennai till he was noticed nine years later in "Sethu" - a film thought to be a dud, but grossed over Rs.5 million.

Vikram won the national award in 2003 for his performance in "Pithamagan". His "Anniyan" is the first Tamil film to be dubbed in French.