Film producers have delved deep into revisionist scholarship to piece together what they say was Jesus’s life between the ages of 13 and 30, a period untouched by the recognised gospels.

The result is the Aquarian Gospel, a $20 million movie, which portrays Jesus as a holy man and teacher inspired by a myriad of eastern religions in India. The Aquarian Gospel takes its name from a century-old book that examined Christianity’s eastern roots and is in its 53rd reprint.

The film’s producers say the movie will be shot using actors and computer animation and will follow the travels of Yeshua, believed to be the name for Jesus in Aramaic, from the Middle East to India. Casting for suitable Bollywood and Hollywood actors has begun.

“The Bible devotes just seven words to the most formative years of Yeshua’s life saying: ‘The boy grew in wisdom and stature’,” points Drew Heriot, the film’s director, whose credits include the cult hit The Secret.

The film, which is due for release in 2009, sets out to be a fantasy action adventure account of Jesus’s life with the three wise men as his mentors. Although the producers say the film will feature a “young and beautiful” princess, it is not clear whether Jesus is to have a love interest.

Commercial gains

The producers say they are hoping for commercial and spiritual gains. “We think that Indian religions and Buddhism, especially with the idea of meditation, played a big part in Christ’s thinking,” said William Sees Keenan, the producer.

“We are looking at new themes. In our story Jesus was loyal to the untouchables (in India) and he defended them with his life by saying that everyone could read the Vedas (Hindu holy books)," said Keenan, a “lapsed Catholic”.

The Catholic church in India dismisses the film as just “Hollywood filmmakers in search of a new audience rather than the truth”. Aware that religious passions are easily inflamed, after the Da Vinci Code film sparked protests among Indian Christians, its spokesman said that a movie about Jesus in India was plainly “fantasy and fiction”.

“I have personally investigated many of these claims and they remain what they first seem: fiction,” said John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union which represents 16 million churchgoers. “I am sure it will make money but I do not think it will displace thousands of years of Biblical thought.”