by Subhash K Jha

Sanjay Suri wanted to play the part of the football player who loses a leg to cancer and is determined to assert his existence by running in the Mumbai Marathon on one leg.

Says Sanjay, "It's the best role in the ensemble piece, no doubt about that. I told the producer Vicky Tejwani to give me that role and I'd have jumped at it. But Vicky and his director Nisha Chennani wanted me to play the overweight industrialist who runs to flab-freedom (now being played by Bikram Saluja)."

Things couldn't be going any better for Sammir Dattani. Even as his Kannada film Amruthdhare romps to a hit status Sammir starts shooting for Madhur Bhandarkar's Corporate after Diwali with Minissha Lamba.

Now he has signed the plum role of a football player on the road to emotional spiritual and physical redemption.

Says Sammir, "It's a dream role. And since I'm a very outdoor person and a footballer, I'm looking forward to playing my character who loses his leg and yet runs the marathon. Not too many sporty films are made in this country. I'm glad, specially since I was the first choice for the part."

Producer Vicky Tejwani endorses Sammir's presence in Marathon. "I wanted someone young innocent and untried on screen. Sammir fitted the role perfectly mainly for his vulnerable face, as the role of the football player is a very sensitive one."

Adds director Nisha Chainani, "Sammir is young lean and athletic. He has the right physical attributes to look like a soccer player."

Sammir intends to put in an intense period of training for the role. This will be his first post-Corporate project, after which he is likely to go into Anant Mahadevan's Do Dooni Chaar where he plays a double role.

Says Sammir, "Actually Marathon Man is also a kind of double role for me . The character has two lives. One before and the other after he loses his leg. It's a life-changing experience."