The actor's learning the lingo so he can play a believable guru in Mohalla Assi

Sunny Deol is learning Sanskrit for Mohalla Assi. The star essays the role of a teacher of the language in Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi's movie. He recently began shooting for the satire at Film City.

Based on the Hindi novel Kashi Ka Assi penned by Dr Kashinath Singh, it is about a mohalla in Varanasi on the banks of the river Ganga.

Says a unit source, "As Sunny's character is of a Sanskrit teacher, he thought it was important for him to learn the lingo.

The audience associates him with his Punjabi drawl. There is this Jat image they have of him.

But as he is playing an extremely distinct character that sees him in a dhoti-kurta throughout Mohalla Assi, he felt he should get the dialogues right."

On the sets, Sunny has been busy mouthing the Sanskrit dialogues with the correct pronunciations.

Initially he felt it would be tough but he was so fascinated that he felt like learning it. He now spends all his time reading and understanding the country's oldest language.

Sunny's spokesperson confirms, "Yes, he has started learning Sanskrit as the role demands it. He has just started shooting and picking up the language he is trying to get it right."

Produced by Vinay Tiwari, Sunny's co-stars in the movie include telly actress Sakshi Tanwar, Ravi Kissen and Saurabh Shukla.