Madhuri in the role of Indira Gandhi

Asian-American filmmaker Krishna Shah will direct a movie named Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story. Madhuri Dixit will play the lead role, that of Indira Gandhi.

Krishna Shah elaborated during a press release: "I have followed Indira Gandhi's life through media, books and critics. It's such an exciting and dramatic story. I want the future generation to know her story. A whole new generation has grown and matured since her assassination and through this film I hope to connect people with their history and legacy."

Apart from Madhuri, who tops the charts whenever she hits the screen, actors Dharmendra, Abhay Deol and Nana Patekar have been approached to play Motilal Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi and politician Jayaprakash Narayan respectively.

Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Tommy Lee Jones have also been reportedly approached for the roles of US presidents Lyndon Baines Johnson and Richard Nixon.

This movie will be made in two parts and will be shot in India, US, Pakistan and Russia. The first portion will cover the period from her birth to the war against Pakistan in 1971. The second part will depict her political life and the controversial rise of her son Sanjay Gandhi upto her assassination in 1984.

Prior to this project, Shah is best-known for his ‘crossover’ 1978 thriller Shalimar starring Rex Harrison alongside Dharmendra and Zeenat Aman. As for Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story, he has been working on its script for the past 20 years.