'Paris Hilton excited about playing Mother Teresa'

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 22 (IANS) Socialite and hotel heiress Paris Hilton is excited at the thought of playing Mother Teresa in a film on the Nobel laureate, says well-known Malayalam director T. Rajeevnath.

Rajeevnath, who is scouting for a suitable actress, said a friend of his called up from the US to say that Hilton, in a late night television interview, expressed her delight at being short-listed for the title role.

"What made me more happy was that she said she would try to convince me that she could handle the role. This certainly is good news because I am leaving for the US early next month and my agents are working out a time slot for a meeting with her," said Rajeevnath.

Since news surfaced about the film, Rajeevnath has been approached by several international production houses.

"I have had a mail from the agents of Warner Brothers and several others, including from South Africa and Kenya, expressing their desire to associate with the proposed film," said Rajeevnath.

The English film will be mostly shot in West Bengal, where Mother Teresa spent most of her life serving the poor, and in several foreign countries.

The preliminary script has been readied with the help of scriptwriter John Paul.

Rajeevnath, 54, has won a national award for direction, besides quite a few international awards. His popular films include "Moksham", "Janani" and "Thannal".

"Mother Teresa" will be his 11th commercial film. By June this year, the director expects to finish the groundwork for the film and the shooting is slated to begin in early 2007.

"My three-week stay in the US next month would be crucial as far as this project is concerned and a clear picture would emerge during that time," he said.

The budget is expected to be around Rs.500 million ($11.3 million). Among those who have already pledged full cooperation in the film are actors Mithun Chakraborty, Kamal Haasan and Mohanlal.

Veteran cameraman Santosh Sivan has also been roped in, so has Ramoji Rao Film City who are keen to support the venture. The director has already said that the proceeds of the film would go to the Missionaries of Charity, which Mother Teresa founded.

Among the specialties of the film would be the character of former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu whose association with Mother Teresa is well known.