Tamil
superstar
Vikram
who
makes
his
debut
in
Hindi
with
Mani
Ratnam"s
Raavan
is
a
traumatized
man.
While
in
the
Hindi
version
of
Raavan
he
plays
Aishwarya
Rai"s
cop-husband
Dev
in
the
Tamil
version
he
plays
the
brutal
outlaw
Veera
and
that
too
with
both
the
versions
being
shot
simultaneously.
Vikram
was
constantly
running
in
and
out
of
the
two
completely
different
characters
makeup
and
languages,
sometimes
within
half
an
hour.
Says
a
source,
“It
got
really
taxing
for
him.
While
Aishwarya
Bachchan
played
the
same
character
in
two
languages
Vikram
had
to
go
from
Raavan
in
Tamil
to
Rama
in
Hindi
after
every
shot.
At
one
point
he
almost
lost
the
plot." One
day
the
film"s
dress
designer
Sabyasachi
Chakrabarty
had
dropped
in
on
location
to
discuss
Vikram"s
look
and
clothes.Vikram
was
informed
by
Mani
Ratnam"s
assistant
that
he
needed
to
sit
with
Sabyasachi
to
discuss
his
look
with
him
for
the
film.
When
the
two
of
them
met
both
began
to
give
their
viewpoints
to
each
other
about
how
the
character
played
by
Vikram
would
dress
up
in
the
film.
Vikram
says,
“Within
half
an
hour
discussing
the
character"s
look
and
we
both
realised
that
something
was
terribly
wrong.
I
wanted
my
looks
to
be
simple
and
minimalist
so
that
I
didn"t
have
to
change
much
from
the
way
I
am.I
suggested
to
Sabyasachi
to
keep
my
skin-
tone
black.
On
the
other
hand
Sabyasachi
was
keen
on
a
suave
and
clean
look.
And
was
was
very
confused
as
to
why
was
I
was
giving
such
a
strange
brief."
Sabysachi
felt
Vikram"s
look
couldnt
be
dark,
and
told
Vikram
that
if
he
was
so
keen
on
a
dark
look
then
maybe
he
could
try
and
do
something
dark
but
formal
.
“I
suggested
a
dhoti.
Sabyasachi
got
really
worked
up
and
told
me
it
was
no
longer
funny
and
asked
me
him
if
I
was
really
sure
about
my
character
Dev
dressing
like
a
rugged
rustic
character.
That"s
when
both
of
us
realised
the
confusion.
I
was
talking
about
the
looks
of
Veera(the
outlaw
character)
my
character
in
the
Tamil
version
and
Sabyasachi
was
talking
about
Dev(the
cop)
the
character
I"m
playing
in
the
Hindi
version
."
Vikram
laughs
Explains
Vikram,
“
In
the
Hindi
version
its
Abhishek
Bachchan
who
is
the
outlaw
character.
And
the
fact
that
I"m
playing
two
opposite
characters
in
the
two
versions
had
caused
the
confusion."
Though
exhausted
by
the
effort
Vikram
thoroughly
enjoyed
the
unprecedented
challenge
of
playing
two
characters
at
the
same
time
in
two
languages.
Vikram
one
of
the
foremost
Tamil
actors,
will
dub
his
own
lines
for
the
Hindi
version
of
Raavan.