Gurinder Chadha wants Saif in next

Gurinder Chadha, who became the proud mother of twins in June 2007, has not only been busy tending to her babies but has also managed to throw in a weight loss of close to 25 kg. What's more, she is all set to begin shooting her next, a film on partition, in Delhi-Jodhpur in October this year.

The film revolves round Lord Mountbatten, and Colin Firth or Michael Fassbender are being considered for the role. The Bend it like Beckham director is keen on Saif Ali Khan as Jawaharlal Nehru, and has already spoken to Naseeruddin Shah, who is game to play Jinnah.

Chadha said excitedly, "This is my biggest challenge till date. I've been working on my partition film for some time now. The central character is Mountbatten. The movie is set in January 1947, when Mountbatten was asked to oversee India, and it ends in August 1947 so it's a brief time span. But it's a huge canvas requiring loads of research and scores of characters. I've spoken to some people including Naseer and Saif. Nehru's role is a cameo, so I wonder if Saif will be willing to do it. And yes, I want my Bhaji on the Beach actress Zohra Sehgal to be part of the film."

While Chadha has acquired the necessary permissions to shoot everywhere in India, including Rashtrapati Bhavan, she doesn't have to shoot in Pakistan at all. "This will be my ultimate dream project and I can't wait for it to take off," she said.

The reason behind kick-starting the project in October, in Chadha's own words, is, "The wife of the author of the book on which my partition film is based is heavily into astrology. She says October is a good time to start."

As of now, a visibly lighter Chadha is gearing up for the 300-yard run from Blackpool to Manchester, where nearly 8,000 people will gather to cheer her on. Asked about her last visit to Mumbai on the occasion of her dear friend Karan Johar's 40th birthday party, she simply chuckled, "No one saw me slip in and slip out, probably because there was so much less of me now to see." We do agree.