Though he hasn"t received any National award this year Prakash Jha just can"t stop preening over the fact that his Raajneeti features the maximum number of National award winners in its cast, Arjun Rampal being the latest. Says Prakash, “When I heard Arjun had won the National award for Rock On I was ecstatic. He is fantastic in my film. But it"s Ranbir I"m most hopeful about. I hope, no in fact I"m pretty certain he"ll win the National award for his performance."

Ranbir plays an US-educated scion of a political dynasty that has to reluctantly return home to shoulder his family"s duties. Says Prakash, “This film will take Ranbir to another level. In fact everyone is outstanding in the film. And why not? I"ve a line-up of National award winners in the cast, from Naseeruddin Shah and Nana Patekar to Manoj Bajpai and Ajay Devgn."

Incidentally, Prakash can"t stop preening over the fact that his Raajneeti is the biggest multi-starrer since Sholay. “I think it"d be impossible to get so many stars under one roof for any other director." As for Katrina Kaif, Raajneeti in many ways is her film.

“The girl has breathed fire and passion into her role. From the way she metamorphoses from a young vivacious girl to the way she walks to give her public speeches as a politician. Audiences won"t be able to believe the transformation of Katrina Kaif. I won"t be surprised if both Ranbir and Katrina win National awards," says Prakash confidently. Ajab Kahani Ki Ghazab Prem.