by Subhash K Jha

It isn't too often that a regional film strikes a chord beyond its home territory. Chandrashekhar Nagthihalli's hit Kannada film Amrithdhare featuring Dhyaan (who's none other than Bollywood's Sammir Dattani) and Spandana (who stars opposite Dino Morea in the new Kannada remake of Julie) which opened at two theatres (Fun Republic and Arora ) in Mumbai, has the rare distinction of having crossed the linguistic barrier.

The heartwarming marital drama about a newly married couple and their splendid struggle to come to terms with the wife's terminal illness, ends with Dhyaan going all-out to fulfil his beloved wife's dying wish...to meet her idol Amitabh Bachchan!!

This is the only South Indian film where AB makes an appearance. Sammir Dattani (shooting for Mani Shankar's new thriller on Hyderbad) recalls the experience fondly. "I'm too young to understand the workings of a marriage. And still I'm told my performance as the husband was convincing. And to have shared screen space with Amitabh Sir so early in my career was a dream come true. Actually I don't look at Amrithdhare as a regional film. The theme of love marriage and tragedy are universal."

Amrithdhare with English subtitles is distributed in Mumbai by Rajshri films who launched Sammir in Hindi films.