Paris Hilton 'Expressed Delight' at Being Cast a Mother Teresa

March 31, 2006

India - Times of India - Original Article (English)    

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Malayalam film director T. Rajeevnath is to meet hotel heiress Paris Hilton in the U.S. in April to discuss if she can play the title role of his film on Nobel laureate Mother Teresa.

Rajeevnath said his agents had established contact with Hilton's agents and now only the time and venue had to be decided.

"Following media reports that I have shortlisted her to play the title role, she has expressed delight. This will make our meeting easier," Rajeevnath said.

The award-winning director is going to the United States armed with a few morphed photographs of Hilton as Mother Teresa.

"The photographs have come out extremely well. These will be my strength when I speak to her," said the director of hits like Moksham, Janani and Thannal.

Rajeevnath, 54, is traveling to America to shoot a documentary on the country's Indian diaspora. He is expected to be there until the end of April.
Since news surfaced about the proposed film on Mother Teresa, agents from several international production houses have approached the director expressing a desire to be associated with it.

The film in English will be shot mostly in West Bengal and in several foreign countries. The preliminary script has been completed.

For Rajeevnath, who has won a national award for direction, Mother Teresa will be his 11th commercial film.

The budget is expected to be in the range of Rs 500 million ($11.3 million) to Rs 600 million.

Among the film personalities who have promised to cooperate with him in the project include Mithun Chakraborty, Kamal Haasan and Mohanlal.

Veteran cameraman Santosh Sivan has been roped in and the Ramoji Rao Film City, headed by media baron Ramoji Rao, is to be associated with it.

Elaborating, Rajeevnath said the opening shot would be taken in the backdrop of the riots that broke out in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the early 1950s.

"The first shot is when Sister Agnes (as Mother Teresa was originally known) drives out of the Loretta Convent seeking food for the convent inmates. Captain Ramesh (played by Mohanlal) stops her vehicle and warns she would be arrested if she proceeds any further," said Rajeevnath.

"Kamal Haasan plays the role of a priest and Mithun Chakraborty is likely to play (former West Bengal chief minister) Jyoti Basu," he said. The shooting is slated to begin in early 2007.