Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai will star in a movie by Ben Kingsley on the making of the Taj Mahal, India's famous marble monument to love, a report said on Thursday.
The movie is likely to be filmed next year in Agra that is home to the Taj Mahal, The Times of India newspaper quoted Kingsley as saying in an interview.
The Taj Mahal, recently voted one of the new seven wonders of the world, was built by Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Soon after its completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son and imprisoned at the nearby Agra Fort.
In all probability, Bipasha Basu's first international project will be a Mughal historical featuring Ben Kingsley and Aishwarya Rai. And she will play Shah Jahan's devoted daughter Jahanara Beghum.
"Yes, there's another role in the film," Bipasha reveals."And Ben Kingsley has asked me to do it. We've already spoken about it. And now we just need to work out the dates."
While Aishwarya and Kingsley will play Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan in the film on the building of the Taj Mahal, Bipasha says, "There's a very special character which Ben has asked me to play."
The idea of Bipasha being part of Sir Ben's production was discussed when they met at the 7 Wonders event in Lisbon.
Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji in Britain. His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, was of Indian descent.Ben Kingsley won the best-actor Oscar for Richard Attenborough's ``Gandhi'' in the 1980s. He is well known in India for his portrayal of the independence leader and champion of nonviolence.
In his latest movie, "You Kill Me,'' Kingsley played a hit man being rehabilitated for alcoholism.
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