Shah Rukh Khan has signed Ab Tak Chappan director Shimit Amin's next project, to be produced by Yashraj films, putting to rest rumours of a rift between Khan and the Chopras.

From the dark mood of Ram Gopal Varma's factory, to the light, feel-good ambience of Yash Chopra's chiffon-and-pearls cinema, Shimit has come a long way.

So will Ab Tak Chappan meet Dilwale Dulhaniya? "Actually," says the US-bred Shimit, accent in place, "I started a film after Ab Tak Chappan for Ram Gopal Varma, called Let's Catch Veerappan. But when Veerappan died, the project was aborted. I left India to go back home to the US (he has family in North Carolina and Los Angeles), and now I'm back with this project."

Apparently Aditya Chopra heard Shimit's script and was bowled over. "All I can say at this point is that it's gonna be very different mood and texture from Ab Tak Chappan." Will it have songs and music? "I don't know. It might; I can't say at this point of time," avers the director. Secret society

Knowing Yashraj's penchant for secrecy, Shimit seems to be walking on glass. "No," he laughs. "Even if my producers weren't known to be secretive, I'd have been hesitant to discuss my new project. It's all so fresh and incomplete right now." The film, written by Jaideep Sahni (who wrote RGV's Company), commences in mid-2006.

But a leap from Varma to Chopra surely entails a lot of readjustment? "Not really," says Shimit. "If Chappan reflected Ram Gopal Varma's cinema, I'm sure my film for Yashraj Films will definitely reflect the new reality in my creative vision.

But it doesn't mean my own individual creativity won't matter. Yashraj Films is like the old Hollywood studio system of the 1940s and '50s, when every production company, from Paramount to MGM to Columbia, made films that reflected their individual style.

And yet every director, be it George Cukor, Michael Curtiz or Vincent Minelli, brought in his own reality. I hope to achieve the same synthesis of patented production style and my individual talent for this project."

Shimit seems loath to admit that he's moved away from Varma's factory-formed vision. "If you say Yashraj Films is posh, so is Varma Corporation. Their films reflect a different kind of sophistication and glamour, that's all. Ab Tak Chappan wasn't a small arthouse film. It made quite an impact."

From Nana Patekar to Shah Rukh Khan, Shimit's made an interesting leap in style and substance!