Los Angeles, Dec 18 (IANS): Actor Keanu Reeves has turned bilingual for his fantasy action film "47 Ronin". He took help from a Japanese coach so that he could record his lines in Japanese, and says it was an "exciting" experience.

The 49-year-old said that he was asked to record his lines in English as well as in Japanese for the movie, but he did not give any second thought to it.

"It’s always exciting for me, for the idea of acting in another language. I’ve been getting instructions on pronunciation. It’s been fun. I recorded every scene with Japanese dialog according to the wishes of the director. If the director wanted to, he could probably release a full Japanese version of the film," Reeves said in a statement.

But the actor admits that it was a challenge too.

"It's always exciting for me, for the idea of acting in another language. I've been getting instructions on pronunciation. It's been fun. I recorded every scene with Japanese dialogue according to the wishes of the director. If the director wanted to, he could probably release a full Japanese version of the film," he said.

Based on one of Japan's most enduring legends, the extraordinary tale of courage has its origins in the early 18th century, when 47 noble samurais honoured the untimely death of their master by avenging him.

The movie also features Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada.

"47 Ronin" will release in India Dec 27 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.