Koena has misunderstood our intentions'

Director Ananth Mahadevan who had planned a three-film series Aksar, Agarr and Anjaam-will not make the final film of the trilogy. Anjaam has been shelved.

"Anamika can wrap up the trilogy. It's my most expensive film. And after this, I want a break from dark thrillers," says Mahadevan.

He attributes the absence of Dino Morea, his leading man, at the film's music launch to a prior commitment.

"I knew Dino would be away in London for a documentary shoot. He did dash down for a few days to promote the film. Minissha (Lamba) was there at the music release," he points out.

Miffed?
What about Koena Mitra? She's miffed that her role (she's reportedly playing the housekeeper Mrs Denvers) has been cut to ribbons and the focus is now on Lamba in this desi version of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca.

"Koena is not the housekeeper but an architect. It's a fad to turn palaces into exclusive hotels. Since she's the film's surprise element, her character has been kept under wraps," says the director.

"Unfortunately, she has misunderstood our intentions. She'll be appeased once she sees the film."

Mahadevan stands by his decision to edit out Aarti Chhabria's part.

"We edited two versions. The one without her worked better." Mahadevan denies that Anamika is a rehash of Rebecca.

"The Hollywood film was made in 1940, Anamika is more contemporary. The only point of similarity is that in my film, too, the leading man has lost his wife and remarried. After that it's my story," he asserts.

All fired up
The director praises his producer, Bhanwar Lal Sharma, for getting him unusual locations. For one particular sequence, permission was secured to set the annex of Gajner Palace on fire.

With Morea's Brahm tanking, isn't he worried about the commercial fate of Anamika?

"I have no control over the fate of my actors' films. I took a decision to go with them and I stand by my choices," he shrugs.

Mahadevan has two films in the works. One toplines Vinod Khanna, Suniel Shetty, Sameera Reddy and Ayesha Dharker. The other one revolves around a business family from Gujarat. Two more projects are in the planning stages with Moser Baer and Mirchi Movies.