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'The story is unique, the music is mesmerising, the acting impressive!'

"The story is unique, the songs are mesmerising, the acting is impressive, the film should do well."

That is Ram Gopal Verma, in modest mode, on his upcoming opus, Jungle.

Well, if the film does well, pretty much the entire unit has reason to celebrate. For starters, there is the director -- whose last outing, Mast, didn't set the box office on fire. Then there is star son Fardeen Khan, whose debut, Prem Aggan, sank lower than the Titanic. And finally Urmila Matondkar, the staple female lead in Ram Gopal's films, who could do with a hit, too.

Come July 14, when the movie hits the box office, the above-mentioned troika -- and the audience -- will be put out of the mounting suspense. Meanwhile, the cast landed in Calcutta, to "discuss the movie with the media".

Jungle is believed to derive its storyline from the exploits of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan. And its makers aren't saying anything to disabuse us of that belief.

Ram Gopal -- 'Ramu', to the industry -- seems quite confident that his film will do well. "As a director, I have to be confident about what I am making," Ramu points out. "Or else I wouldn't be making movies at all. As for Jungle, I think it has all the ingredients required for a successful film. It is a kind of action thriller, and I have little doubt in my mind that it will leave the audience awestruck."

According to him, the audience has had it up to here with watching the stereotypical masala movies. "I am trying to provide a refreshing touch to all my movies," he says.

Meanwhile, Urmila has her own personal angst to discuss. She is, she says with some heat, sick and tired of being seen as the perennial glamour doll, a clothes hanger for the latest fashions. Citing her serious role in Ramu's runaway hit Satya, Urmila told rediff.com: "In my previous movies, I guess I had overdone my glamorous image, the dancing, all that. In Jungle, I have taken special care to tone this down.

"The story also demands that I play a more serious role and to tell you the truth, I enjoyed the different character I get to do in Jungle," the lead actress continues. "Sandip's (Chowta) music is superb, and I am sure this will work to great advantage for the film."

Sandip Chowta has in fact tuned Ram Gopal's earlier outings, Satya, Kaun and Mast. "I guess Ram Gopal Verma is one director who gives full liberty to his music director, never interferes," Chowta says. "I have always enjoyed complete freedom under his direction."

For his part, Fardeen Khan is ready to learn whatever lessons there were in the flop of his debut film Prem Aggan, and move on. "I was looking to apply in Prem Aggan the acting principles I had learnt in the US, and I was disappointed when the film bombed," Fardeen confesses. "But on the flip side, it won me a Filmfare award, and another award in New York, both for best debut."

Asked if the likes of Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan, both star sons like himself, posed a challenge to his own ambitions, Fardeen preferred to glance the question aside. "Assuming they (Hrithik and Abhishek) are of same age, and sons of yesteryear's stars, yes they are good competition for me. But you have to understand that we are not competing with one another. We only compete for the good roles and the good projects that are out there. Having said that, I believe that each actor has his own speciality, based on his talents, looks. There are so many factors that influence a director to cast a particular actor in his film, so no, I don't think this is a competitive situation, really."

Being signed on by Ram Gopal Verma appears to have broken Fardeen's drought of sorts, with the actor getting two more offers while Jungle was on the floors. "Right now, I am working in two projects, both untitled. There is a movie being directed by E Nivas, with Saif Ali Khan and Aftab Shivdasani. And there is also a Rajat Mukherjee film, with Urmila as my co-star."

The makers of the movie have high hopes that Jungle will storm the cities. College student and inveterate movie-goer Shivani Kapoor sounds a cautionary note. "I don't know whether a story based on sandalwood smuggling and ivory poaching will have anything to attract us," she says. "Fardeen looks good in the films, judging by the posters and trailers, and could make his presence felt in Bollywood. But Urmila, well, she seems to be doing the same stuff, nothing new."

Either way, give it another 24 hours, and we'll know...