Actresses' shaktiavatar in 'Dasavatharam'

While Kamalhassan's 10 different roles and an equal number of dictions in the much-awaited ‘Dasavatharam’ has been hogging the media limelight all these days, it has now emerged that the female leads are also in for some meaty roles, with heroine Asin playing a double role.

And the surprise package could well be Bollywood damsel, Mallika Sherawat, who is playing the role of a CIA agent in the movie, according to a press release.

Mallika, making her first direct entry into Kollywood, "dons an altogether different cap in the movie," the release said. Asin, who has been delivering quite a number of hits, pairing top Tamil and Telugu heroes, would for the first time play a double role.

The other Bollywood connection to the film comes by way of singer Himesh Reshammiya, who also makes his debut in Tamil cinema. However, it is not clear whether he will render one of his own numbers in Tamil. The release further said that the audio rights of the movie have been bagged by Sony BMG, which makes its foray into the regional music market through the Kamal-Asin starrer.

The release quoted Shridhar Subramaniam, Managing Director Sony BMG India as saying it was "privilege for us to enter the Tamil music market with a project as grand and special as 'Dasavathram'.

Earlier slated for a Pongal (January 15) release, post production delay ensured that the producer, Oscar V Ravichandran rescheduled the dates for June 6.

The successful duo of director K S Ravikumar and Kamalhassan had earlier come out with the rib-ticklers, 'Avvai Shanmugi' and 'Panchathantiram'.