Buddha Purnima is one of the sacred festivals that is celebrated across the world, which commemorates the birth of Lord Gautam Buddha, who founded Buddhism. This year, Buddha Jayanti or Buddha Purnima is being celebrated on Monday, May 12. On the occasion of this auspicious festival, let us tell you that one of the acclaimed directors in Bollywood, Ashutosh Gowarikar, once planned to direct a film based on the life of Gautam Buddha.
Ashutosh Gowariker wanted to make a film on Prince Siddhartha
Back in 2010, ace filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker, who is known for his work in films like Lagaan, Swades, and Jodhaa Akbar, wanted to bring the journey of Prince Siddhartha to the big screen. As per reports, Ashutosh revealed that the script of the movie has been written, and the title of this film will be 'Buddha.'
Speaking about the casting of this movie, Ashutosh said, 'I think the scope of Buddha is global that there are so many countries that are deeply interested, if they had not become Buddhist they are deeply taking interest in learning about Buddhism, learning about what Buddha was all about and keeping that in mind, an international face could do justice to the character as much as an Indian face could.'
Keanu Reeves and Shah Rukh Khan were in Gowarikar's mind
Reportedly, there were names of several Bollywood actors who were under consideration to play the role of Lord Buddha. It includes Ranbir Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Kunal Kapoor and Aamir Khan. However, Ashutosh also suggested the names of Hollywood actors such as Keanu Reeves, Orlando Bloom and Richard Gere. The film was to be produced by Spice Infotainment Ltd with a budget of Rs 600 crore, which could have made it the most expensive film ever made in Bollywood. However, this project didn't progress from the pre-production phase and the film got shelved due to several undisclosed reasons.
Talking about the work front, Ashutosh Gowarikar's next project is a historical biopic named 'Shankar', which is based on the life of Adi Shankaracharya.
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