Kamal Haasan to star in $50 mn thriller

Chennai, Aug 12 (IANS) Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan is set to star in an action thriller '19 Steps', to be produced in collaboration with Walt Disney. The film will be made at a budget of $50 million.

It will be directed by Bharat Bala who shot to fame with music maestro A.R. Rahman's albums 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jana Gana Mana'.

'19 Steps' will go on the floors in mid-2009 after Kamal completes his film 'Marmayogi', which is another Hollywood co-production, said a publicist.

The movie also stars Japanese star Tadanobu Asano, who is known for his Samurai roles in 'Gohatto' (1999) and 'Zatoichi' (2003).

In '19 Steps', Asano plays a blood thirsty Samurai Kenji seeking to conquer the ancient Indian martial art of Kalaripayattu (precursor of Karate). He learns the tough 18 steps and masters the 19th from an Indian guru played by Kamal, said the publicist.

The movie is being scripted by award-winning Malayalam novelist M.T. Vasudevan Nair.