After "Indian", Haasan played a woman in the comedy "Avvai Shanmughi", which was inspired by "Mrs. Doubtfire". He chose Shantanu Sheorey to direct the Hindi remake of "Avvai Shanmughi", "Chachi 420", but after dissatisfaction with five days of shooting Haasan took over as director. In 1997 Haasan began directing an unfinished biopic of Mohammed Yusuf Khan, "Marudhanayagam"; a forty five minutes of film and a trailer was shot. "Marudhanayagam" was expected to be the biggest, most expensive film in Indian cinematic history and his magnum opus; a number of well-known actors and technicians had been signed, and it was launched at a public ceremony by Queen Elizabeth during her 1997 visit to India. Although the film failed to materialise due to budget constraints, Haasan expressed an interest in reviving the project. In 1998, he appeared in Singeetam Srinivasa Rao's romantic comedy, "Kaathala Kaathala" opposite Prabhu Deva. The film was a commercial success and was dubbed in Hindi as "Mirch Masala", which was never released.