Rajeev Khandelwal plays the lead in 'Joker'

Bollywood actor Rajeev Khandelwal, who received acclaim for his debut "Aamir", will next be doing a project tentatively titled "Joker". The shooting will begin Jan 20.

To be directed by Kumar Gaurav's cousin Vikram Tuli, the film is about a father and his young son. Javed Jaffrey was earlier supposed to play the lead role.

"'Joker' has gone through many changes. I'm aware Javed Jaffrey was offered the role," Rajeev told IANS.

Earlier when Javed was doing it, the son was to be seven-years-old. With Rajeev in the cast, the son's age is now four. The film is to be shot at a stretch from Jan 20 to Feb 20 in New Zealand and will star Rajeev with Prachi Desai playing his leading lady.

The film has run into title trouble as Shirish Kunder is set to make a film called "Joker".

"We don't know what to call it because 'Joker' was the most suitable title," Rajeev says.

Also, director Sourabh Narang of "Return Gift" in which Rajeev Khandelwal is in the lead has fallen seriously ill and the film has been indefinitely postponed.

"Sourabh was about to start his film when this happened. We're all waiting for him to be well enough to start the film."

Indo Asian News Service