Taking 'Taj' forward

After her performance as queen Jodha in film Jodha Akbar, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is set to play Mumtaz Mahal in Ben Kingsley’s Taj, which depicts one of the greatest love stories of Indian history.

The period film on the legendary Shah Jahan-Mumtaz Mahal love story will see her opposite Kingsley with whom she had earlier acted with in the 2007 film, The Last Legion. Speaking on her association with Kingsley, the actress said, “During the shooting of the The Last Legion, Kingsley had shared the idea with me. I have just received the draft of the script and now we are planning to take it forward.”

The screen play of the film has reportedly been written by David Ashton and it is likely to go on floors around September-October next year. The Bollywood beauty, who is rumoured to be the brain behind the revival of Bachchan’s home production AB Corps, has been very excited about Paa where her husband, actor Abhishek Bachchan plays father to his real-life dad Amitabh Bachchan, who plays a 13-year-old child Auro suffering from progeria.

“The family is extremely excited to share our baby, since its by AB Corps. We are very warmed by the response given by people. All the trouble was taken by the director Balki and what’s so special about the film is that it's a simple story. It’s pleasant despite the fact that the principal character Auro is born with progeria. It’s not too heavy and talks about interpersonal relationships,” Aishwarya said.