Abhi-Ash starrer not based on Ramayana!

For weeks, there has been speculation that Mani Ratnam's next starring Abhishek and Aishwarya is the modern day version of the epic Ramayana. However, sources close to the project dispel this buzz and reveal that the film revolves around caste-based issues.

A source reveals Abhishek's character comes from the lower strata of society and the film chronicles his struggle and rise from being a nobody to taking a place of power. It is learnt that Ravi Kissen plays Abhishek's brother in the film. "Mani hasn't yet fixed the location for his first schedule, but most likely he will be shooting in the interiors of small villages in North India."

The yet untitled project also stars Govinda, Ranbir Kapoor and Tejaswini Kolhapure and goes on floors soon. "The speculation that the project is titled Ravan is untrue. There are no similarities between the epic and Mani's film. In fact, he has done intense research on caste-based stories in rural India and Abhishek's character will be very dark and intense. The story has Abhishek and Ravi hunt people down and then kill them."

The budget for the film is said to be an astounding 150 crore and Mani has taken five months from each actor for the dates.