In 1982, Ben Kingsley became Mahatma Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi. The film instantly became a classic and went on to dominate the Oscars, earning Best Picture, Director, Actor, Writing, Editing, Costume Design, Cinematography, and Art Direction. And even though those are ridiculously enormous shoes to fill, the Guardian reports that Kingsley is heading back to Indian history to play Shah Jahan, the emperor who built the Taj Mahal.
Back in the mid-1600s, Shah Jahan was a Mughal Emperor who was devastated when his favorite (third) wife Mumtaz Mahal died while giving birth to their fourteenth child. In her honor, he decided to erect a grand mausoleum that would not only be epically impressive and beautiful, but also so glorious that sins would be washed away. It took roughly 21 years to create and has been included on some Seven Wonders of the World lists.
Titled Taj, the script was...
Back in the mid-1600s, Shah Jahan was a Mughal Emperor who was devastated when his favorite (third) wife Mumtaz Mahal died while giving birth to their fourteenth child. In her honor, he decided to erect a grand mausoleum that would not only be epically impressive and beautiful, but also so glorious that sins would be washed away. It took roughly 21 years to create and has been included on some Seven Wonders of the World lists.
Titled Taj, the script was...
- 11/25/2009
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
Twenty-seven years after he won an Oscar for Gandhi, Ben Kingsley will return to play another instrumental figure in Indian history, as Shah Jahan - the man who built the Taj Mahal
He won an Oscar playing Mohandas Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's 1982 biopic of the Indian leader. Twenty seven years on, Ben Kingsley looks set to delve into subcontinental history books once again as part of a new project which will see him star as the Mogul emperor who built the Taj Mahal.
The actor will play Shah Jahan in Taj, a $25-$30m (£15m-£18m) project which he is also producing, his firm Sbk Pictures said in a statement today. Indian superstar and former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, has agreed to appear as Mumtaz Mahal, Jahan's favoured wife and the woman whose death in childbirth inspired the construction of the world-famous building between 1632 and 1654.
"With my passion...
He won an Oscar playing Mohandas Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's 1982 biopic of the Indian leader. Twenty seven years on, Ben Kingsley looks set to delve into subcontinental history books once again as part of a new project which will see him star as the Mogul emperor who built the Taj Mahal.
The actor will play Shah Jahan in Taj, a $25-$30m (£15m-£18m) project which he is also producing, his firm Sbk Pictures said in a statement today. Indian superstar and former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, has agreed to appear as Mumtaz Mahal, Jahan's favoured wife and the woman whose death in childbirth inspired the construction of the world-famous building between 1632 and 1654.
"With my passion...
- 11/25/2009
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
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