Years back when Ashutosh Rana made a smashing debut as a villain with Mukesh Bhatt produced and Tanuja Chandra directed DUSHMAN, he was being touted as the next best thing to have happened after Gabbar Singh.

He was mean, he was heartless and he was scheming and if only he would have played his cards well, he could have been in an enviable position today in the world of Bollywood. Sadly, after almost 10 years since his debut, he is still being remembered most only for his work in Bhatt films like RAAZ or KALYUG.

He may have done a couple of dozen more films but somehow he hasn't got the kind of success and achievement that an actor of his caliber deserves.

All of this should certainly happen with the release of AWARAPAN where Ashutosh Rana is returning in an author backed role. Directed by Mohit Suri, who has an undefeated record of three successes in a row, ZEHER, KALYUG and WOH LAMHE, AWARAPAN is the costliest film ever coming from the house of Bhatts who have shelled out not less than 18 crores in their mega venture.

In the film, Ashutosh Rana plays the boss of central protagonist of the film, Emraan Hashmi, who is required to keep an eye on the woman Rana loves.

The film stars Shreya Saran and Mrinalini Sharma as the two lead heroines along with Rehan Khan, who made his debut with JAANA - LET'S FALL IN LOVE last year. Pritam has given the music while Sayeed Quadri writes. The film is being distributed overseas by STUDIO 18.