After his "Pinjar", a powerful paean to the partition of India, filmmaker Chandraprakash Dwivedi is all set to launch "Prithviraj-Sanjukta" with Sunny Deol in the lead.

Raj Kumar Santoshi, who was planning a similar film with Ajay Devgan, has withdrawn his project averting a replay of the "Bhagat Singh" kind of confrontation between Sunny and Ajay when both were playing the freedom fighter in separate films at the same time in 2002.

Dwivedi had met Sunny over several lengthy sessions before finalizing the actor for the coveted part.

The director, who shot to fame as the maker of India's first televised bio-pic "Chanakya", has decided to go ahead with the project. He has finalized a producer.

"It isn't Sunny. Though he'd have loved to produce this film but he has burnt his hands too often. I had been warned against Sunny. But when I met him I knew he was just right for Prithiviraj. When I met him I told him this role was not in keeping with his image and that I wouldn't let him do what he has been doing."

Apparently UTV had agreed to produce Dwivedi's historical but backed out after Santoshi announced his project.

Actress Sushmita Sen is also expected to be a pivotal part of "Prithviraj-Sanjukta", though not in the title role.

Another project planned by the director is "Ashoka", featuring in all probability Richard Gere. Dwivedi has reservations about Santosh Sivan's version of "Asoka".

"I feel he was not so much interested in recreating Ashoka's life as going into specific areas of the emperor's personality. Santosh's film wasn't chronologically correct either. It took too many historical liberties. Even 'Mangal Pandey' disappointed at so many levels. But I won't give up making historicals."

Dwivedi's earlier work "Pinjar" suffered due to bad marketing.

"The producer and I couldn't see eye to eye on the marketing. Eventually I will have to produce my own films. But I remain fascinated by historicals. I would love to make a non-historical film but I end up going back in history."

Some recent historicals:

1. Chandraprakash Dwivedi's "Chanakya" (Doordarshan)

2. Santosh Sivan's "Ashoka"

3. Shyam Benegal's "Bose - The Forgotten Hero"

4. Raj Kumar Santoshi's "The Legend Of Bhagat Singh"

5. Ketan Mehta's "Sardar"

6. Jabbar Patel's "Ambedkar"

7. Ketan Mehta's "Mangal Pandey"

8. Feroz Khan's "The Mahatma Versus Gandhi" (ready for release)

9. Ashutosh Gowarikar's "Jodha-Akbar" (in the pipeline)

10. Chandraprakash Dwivedi's "Prithviraj-Sanjukta" (in the pipeline)

11. Chandraprakash Dwivedi's "Ashoka" (in the pipeline)