United States software engineers have been called in to help in the search for an actor to play the role of Lord Buddha in a major Indian movie, a report said on Monday.
The engineers in Silicon Valley have generated computer images of the Buddha which will be used in the global hunt for an actor to play the lead in the $120-million film by acclaimed Indian director Shekhar Kapur, Business Standard newspaper said.
“The software engineers have come up with wonderful images based on history and other information available from various Buddhist societies,” BK Modi, chairperson of Buddha Films which is producing the feature, told the paper.
“We need a face that fits those images,” Modi said from Beverly Hills, California, where his company is based. “The character of the man who will play the Buddha is also important.”
In September 2004 Kapur met exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at his home in the north Indian town of Dharamsala for guidance on the film, which will focus on the Buddha attaining enlightenment and on his teachings.
“A leading actor of the Japanese film industry has approached us for the role,” said Modi. “But is was not an ideal match. We want to do the film in a way that it becomes a reference point for the Buddhists and for mankind.”
The Buddha was born in the Sixth Century BC in Kapilavastu, on the border of present day India and Nepal, into a princely family.
Because he forbade the creation of images of himself, he was initially represented by his followers by an empty throne, a pair of feet or a wheel, the report said.
The first images of the Buddha came around 500 years after his death when artists in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and sculptors in the north Indian city of Mathura began creating his likeness.
Modern-day images are based on Hindu and Buddhist scriptures which highlight the fact he radiated the eternal peace and “nirvana” which he attained during his lifetime, as well as his perfect eyes and elongated ear lobes.
Kapur, who first won international acclaim for Bandit Queen in the mid-90s, moved to London and directed big budget films Elizabeth and The Four Feathers.
In India, he is known for blockbusters like Mr India and Masoom (Innocent).