`Mohalla Assi` will change Sunny Deol`s image: Chandraprakash Dwivedi

New Delhi: Chandraprakash Dwivedi, who is directing Sunny Deol in his upcoming film `Mohalla Assi`, says the action star`s image will change with this project where he is essaying the role of a Sanskrit teacher.

The movie is based on the fourth story of Kashinath Singh`s five-story Hindi novel `Kashi Ka Assi` and also stars Sakshi Tanwar. "I know Sunny since 2004 and since then we have been planning to work together but nothing materialised. When I got a chance to direct this movie with him everyone was taken by surprise and even my own cast did not believe that Sunny will be the actor for this unconventional role," Dwivedi said. The `Chanakya` actor-director added that this role will break the established image of Sunny. "I know a person who is not a fan of Sunny Deol and has not seen a single movie of his. But he is eager to see him in this role after knowing that I am directing him," he says. `Mohalla Assi`, releasing in April 2013, will be coming a decade after Dwidevi`s last film `Pinjar`. "The movie is set in Varanasi in the 1988-98 period. It portrays globalisation and the city has been taken as a reference to India," Dwivedi said at the DVD launch of his TV series `Upanishad Ganga` here last evening. When asked what took him so long to direct another movie after the much-acclaimed `Pinjar`, Dwivedi said, "Two mega-budget movies were planned in between but they didn`t take off for various reasons. And when I started working on `Upanishad Ganga` in 2007, it became my priority." nd the director said that such was the response to the show especially from the younger audience that they had to release the DVD in the midst of the series. Not ready to rest his laurels, Dwivedi said that he finds it challenging to work on history and mythology be it in films or television. "The kind of work that we are doing in Upanishad Ganga can be used as a reference for someone doing a study on Upanishads," he said. Elaborating on the difference between his shows and other popular mainstream serials Dwivedi said, "How many people have asked for the DVDs of the type of shows that run on GECs today? That is how my work is different," he says. Asked whether he is planning to consider acting again, Dwivedi said, "My journey as an actor is complete with Chanakya." PTI