Now he seems to be reaping the rewards of a brilliant marketing idea. How else could you sell or ordinary story, and perhaps an ordinary film, to a saturated market?

Today, most people know about film. Least of all because of the narrative -- about a Hindu boy brought up in a Muslim household -- which still remains a trite vehicle for the message of communal harmony it hopes to carry. But the controversy has clicked.

First the film's title ran into trouble with the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, which registers titles. Chamber President K C M Chandrashekara said they had originally rejectedthe title because Saddam Hussein was ``an international figure associated with controversy''. They were also worried over the likelihood of it provoking communal tension, till a Muslim organisation wrote to Chandrashekara stating that Muslims did not object to the title.

Nevertheless, the Chambers' title registration committee put its foot down. So the producers settled for plain old Saddam. It was then cleared.

But there is still the Censor Board to get through. Chandrashekara believes the board could raise objections if it wanted to. But that is yet to be.

Meanwhile, Jaggesh follows his own logic. He was inspired, he says, by others who had similar ideas. For instance, Chiranjeevi's Telugu film Hitler, and the Kannada film Veerappan starring Devraj, besides Shivraj Kumar's recent hit AK drew huge audiences. It was natural that he too hoped for a little of the same.

Saddam slated for release on October 2 -- again on Gandhi Jayanthi, to ``reiterate the message ofcommunal harmony -- is to be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu. The actor is basking in the philosophy that his film spreads the msessage of peace. ``The protagonist, Saddam Hussein, tells the Pakistanis that they have created enough tension in India, and it is time for them to go back off now.''

But the controversy over the film's title is not over yet. Though some Muslim groups like the Muslim Mahila Organisation, after viewing the film, were happy to note that the film's protagonist was given a Muslim name to help spread the message of communal harmony, others felt the title might offend the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Advocate Aiyyaz Ahmed wrote to the Film Chamber on ``behalf of the Muslim community'' not to clear the title, Chandrashekara said.

The Iraqi Embassy also got wind of the episode, and wrote to Jaggesh, via the Indian authorities at Delhi, seeking an explanation. Jaggesh did write back explaining his motive in detail. The Iraqis haven't got back yet.

That's not all. The film has still tomake it to the theatres, though the producers are confident and are going ahead withthe dubbing of the film but Saddam has already made his mark.