It may not be Preity but an Italian actre

Preity Zinta may not be the chosen one to play the title role of Sonia Gandhi in Jagmohan Mundhra's film on Ms Gandhi. In fact Preity may be far from Mundhra's conceptualization of the befitting Sonia. 'I see only an Italian actress playing the part of Sonia in my film. In fact the quest for the ideal Sonia has just begun for me. It never occurred to me at any point that Preity could be suited for the role, though Preity is a great friend. It was pure media speculation probably arising out Preity's dimpled smile, which does resemble Sonia's,' Mundhra revealed, while talking his ambitious film on Sonia Gandhi, which will be his next after PROVOKED.

However he did not rule out the idea of casting Priety if she was really keen on playing the part. 'If Preity is indeed interested in playing the role, I will put her through a screen test with a proper get-up of Sonia Gandhi but I would any day prefer an Italian actress over anyone else. In fact, there is one actress already under consideration,' he added.

The story of SONIA according to Mundhra, is not one of political intrigue but essentially a love story of an Italian woman who is drawn to India for the love of a man. Says Mundhra, 'It is the love story of an Italian woman which starts in 1964 from Italy to her education in Cambridge and subsequently in India, where the love of her life and destiny beckons her. It ends with her turning down the Prime Ministership of India.'

The film is based on Rashid Kidwai's biography on the life of Sonial Gandhi and is said to have generated considerable curiosity in political circles. Mundhra however reveals that he not heard anything from Ms Gandhi, though he is looking forward to meeting her some day. 'I am sure Ms Gandhi is aware about the fact that a film is being made on her life. You have to live under a rock in India to be unaware of such a development with the number of media reports that have appeared on the prospective film so far. Besides my producer and I have spoken to a number of senior Congress leaders. I am sure the word has already spread around,' he says.

Mundhra plans to start shooting for the film in January 2006, after he releases his PROVOKED in December this year. Prior to that he intends to finalize the entire main cast for the film, including the actors who will essay the role of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay and Maneka Gandhi. 'They will be mostly from India,' he says.