sneha ullal aishwarya

Sneha Ullal 'replaces' Aishwarya Rai in a Hollywood film

Sneha Ullal is about to play the female lead role in a Hollywood film for which the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai was the original choice.

Actor-producer Tom George Kolath, winner of the Best Feature National award and Indian Panorama award in 2004 for Malayalam film 'Akale At a distance', is all set to foray into Hollywood with his directorial debut 'Gandhi Park'.

'Gandhi Park', starring Sneha,Anupam Kher , Brandon Sommers, Vikaas Kalantri, Sush Nayar among others is a contemporary, cross culture romantic comedy.

At a press conference in Mumbai Monday night, Tom, announcing his film said it is a passionate love story and deals with the realities when an Indian girl falls in love with an American boy. It is about the ensuing family tension, the inherent conflict of cultures, and the pressures of going against the family traditions that are set in stone.

The film according to Tom aims to resonate with immigrants around the world as it grapples with their dilemma and struggle to reconcile their duality of existence. On one hand, they strive to conform to the customs and conventions of the adopted country and on the other, they wish to uphold their native culture, he added.

The debutant director said, "'Gandhi Park' is a story of every Indian and unlike many crossover films that subscribe to cultural stereotypes, it will bring Indian values and traditions to the limelight. I wanted to bring the beauty and ageless relevance of our heritage and values it international attention by making a movie based on them."

About the film's title, he said, "Gandhi Park is a place in downtown New York where the film's story begins and ends. People living outside India love their country more than the natives. I could not think of a better name".

Produced under the banner of Amerasia Pictures Corp by Dr. Anil Paulose, the shooting for the film begins from today in Goa for three days, later in Delhi for another three-four days and finally a start to finish 75 days schedule in New York.

The banner is independent production house based in New York. 'Gandhi Park' is not just a name but symbol of peace and represented Asia for the global audience of his film, said Tom.

He admitted that Ash was the first choice to play the female protagonist Priyanka, now being played by Sneha. "Ash had date problems".

When asked whether he had cast Sneha because of her resemblance to the former beauty queen, Tom said, "I did not give a thought to this resemblance. I just wanted a beautiful Indian girl who could take on the role".

Anupam, who earlier starred in Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara , said the concept of Gandhism in movies was not a conscious effort. "Jahanu Barua had the script of 'Maine Gandhi' for ten years before making a film while Tom had the script of 'Gandhi Park' for the last two years.

"After independence, lot of movies were made on patriotism, values of life. The genre later shifted to violence, romance. Now, I think the time has come to go back to our roots culturally. Gandhi represents the Indian soul. I think based on this concept, stories will mushroom and depicted on silver screen", he added.

Speaking about the success of 'Gandhigiri' in Lage Raho Munnabhai , Anupam said the film proves that we have to change the language of teaching children. Audiences are tired of plastic things.

Claiming 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara' as his best performance to date, he said he has had high hopes from Khosla Ka Ghosla starring him and Boman Irani which was released after a delay.

When did she first realise that she had an uncanny resemblance to Aishwarya Rai? “I was eight years old when Aishwarya Rai was crowned Miss World and everyone started comparing her with me. I was like, ‘No way, I’m more beautiful than her!’, but as I grew up, I realised how wrong I was. Ash is any day more beautiful than me. But being compared to the most beautiful woman in the world is not an insult, yaar! It’s an honour. But again, it would be unfair for Ash to be compared to a rank, raw newcomer like me. She is a senior actress and has achieved so much, while I have just started my career. It will take lot of time for me to reach her level.”