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Mumbai, Sep 28: Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai will play Mumtaz Mahal in a film to be co-produced by British actor Sir Ben Kingsley.

Kingsley himself will play the role of the Mughal emperor Shahjahan in the flick.

“The movie is on the building of the Taj Mahal. The romance will also include Shah Jahan's abject isolation for years in a prison cell,” Kinglsey is quoted by Time of India.

Kingsley added that he had spoken to Ash about the project while filming The Last Legion with her.

“She very generously agreed to do the movie with me. My production house is working with a screenwriter on the project. I have very clear ideas about how I want to approach the subject.” Kingsley is quoted as saying.

The movie will be shot in Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. The shooting will begin next year.

It may be recalled that Sir Ben Kingsley was one of the hosts of The Seven New Wonders of the World event in July in Lisbon when Bipasha Basu announced Taj Mahal as one of the new wonders.

Kingsley is best known for his performance as Mahatma Gandhi in Sir Richard Attenborough's award winning film ‘Gandhi’ (1982).

Aishwarya Rai is presently shooting Pink Panther 2 in Boston, USA.