After Marathi television serials, South Indian media mogul Ramoji Rao is venturing into less trodden territory.

Beginning 10 April, the producer will flag off the shooting of a film that will be made simultaneously in Marathi and Gujarati. The film, to be made at a budget of Rs 8 million, will have distinct dialogues, cast and music, adapted suitably for both languages. This is the first time a film with the same script and music is being created in two languages simultaneously, say industry observers.

The film, a comedy written by Ashok Upadhyay, is titled Bin Paishacha Tamasha in Marathi and Wala Aave to Saachu bol in Gujarati. To be shot in a tight schedule of 45 days at the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, the film is slated for a Diwali release, says Chetan Dubey, who will edit both films.

To be directed by Vinay Laad, who has five Marathi films to his credit so far, the films will be shot in cinemascope, a rarity for regional films. Some of the cast, which includes Marathi actors Avinash Kharshikar, Vijay Chavan and Pallavi Subhash, will be repeated in both versions.

The music, scored by Nishikant Sadafule, sets another trend in that the songs are all western style numbers, two of which are common for both versions. The entire central cast of both films totalling nearly 20 is already assembled at RFC, ready to begin shooting for the film which will be done shot-wise, say sources.

MIPTV (International Television Program Market) has announced that award winning documentary producer Brian Lapping is MIPDOC 2002‘s special guest. MIPTV claims to be the spring‘s leading international television program market.

He will appear in MIPDOC‘s interview Talking with. The interview session will be held during the MIPDOC documentaries screenings at Cannes from 13-14 April. This will be followed by MIPTV from 15-19 April.

At MIPTV Brian Lapping will look to tie up with broadcasters for Tackling Terror, an official release states. This is a new two-hour documentary investigating the political decisions made in the wake of 11 September events.

The principal shooting of Tackling Terror will commence in April. The UK‘s Channel 4 originally commissioned the program. Since then 15 networks around the globe have signed up as co-producers, the release states.

The documentary is scheduled to be broadcast on the first anniversary of the attacks. The program examines the change in the American psyche, and its allied governments following the attacks of last September, the fall of Kandahar in Afghanistan and the creation of an interim government in Afghanistan.

Lapping‘s has an impressive resume that includes producing The Second Russian Revolution, Watergate and the Death of Yugoslavia.

In 1988, Lapping set up his own company, known as Brook Lapping Productions. Its first production, Countdown to War, a drama based on letters, memoirs and official papers, starred Oscar nominee Ian McKellen (Gods And Monsters) as Hitler.

In 1994 the company‘s Watergate won for Discovery Channel in the US its largest audience ever for a documentary series. In 1995, the The Death of Yugoslavia series was broadcast in more than 30 countries and won over a dozen prestigious awards.

Last year MIPTV featured 11,049 executives, 2,827 companies from 90 countries including 1,228 exhibiting companies on 481 stands, and 2,167 buyers the release states.

MIPTV is organised by REED MIDEM a world class organizer of top-level international trade events in Cannes and overseas which have become essential business platforms for key industry players.