With a Hindi version of It's A Wonderful Afterlife planned, will Ekta Kapoor's plans of giving Sendhil his big B-Town debut, take a backseat?

Sendhil's B-Town launch before Ekta's Shor

With a Hindi version of It's A Wonderful Afterlife planned, will Ekta Kapoor's plans of giving Sendhil his big B-Town debut, take a backseat?

Ekta Kapoor's planned to launch Sendhil Ramamurthy in Bollyood in a big way with her production, Shor. She now has competition. The Heroes star features in Gurinder Chadha's It's A Wonderful Afterlife, which releases next month. The makers have now planned to also release a Hindi version of the film titled Hai Marjaawan, the same day.

When Ekta pencilled in on Sendhil for her project, she was aware that he featured in Chadha's romantic comedy. But that was a Western film with a niche audience, so it was okay. With a Hindi version in the offing, Sendhil will be a familiar face for moviegoers. Says a source, "The decision to have the Hindi version of It's A Wonderful Afterlife will make it look like it is his Bollywood launch."

Ekta remains optimistic. "Shor was always to come out after It's A Wonderful Afterlife." She instead feels Gurinder's movie being out in several non-Asian markets that will prove beneficial to them. "We will exploit these non-Asian markets and create a brand-new market for Shor and Sendhil in those regions."

Sendhil maintains, "Gurinder is very popular in the Hollywood circuit. I had heard a lot about her and always wanted to work with her. When It's A Wonderful Afterlife came my way, I took it up immediately. Gurinder is full of energy."

He adds, "On the other hand, I didn't know anything about Ekta. But once I met her I got to know heru2026she is very warm."

Ekta had thrown a lavish party in Sendhil's honour in January to introduce him to B-Town, just before the shoot of Shor started. The film is slated to release later in the year.