Vijay Dutt
London, July 23, 2005 (Hindustan Times)
Aishwarya Rai and Brad Pitt are likely to get important roles in Shekhar Kapur’s “Buddha.” Richard Gere, a devout follower of the Dalai Lama, is also slated to star in the proposed film. Bhupendra Kumar Modi is reportedly funding the film costing around £70 million.
The film will tell the story of the Prince who gave up everything to attain enlightenment. The Dalai Lama has, it is said, given his blessings for the project. Kapur’s project comes 13 years after Mira Nair faced agitation from Buddhists who opposed “Buddha” being shown as an ordinary human being. Nair had denied that she had no desire to offend the devout.
Kapur told the Times that his film would explore the idea of “searching for the spirit, for the self”. He said he was not interested in a straight telling of the story but wanted to offer an interpretation, which he admitted, could provoke a controversy.
