There has been lots of speculation and talk about Oscar winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley’s film Taj. Sir Kingsley will be playing the role of Shah Jahan in the English language movie for his home banner SBK. One of the main questions everyone wants to know is who will be his Mumtaz. Well, we don’t know that yet, but we do know who will be playing Shah Jahan’s first wife Princess Kanadahari Begum. It is none other than Ben Kingsley’s wife Daniela Lavender.
Daniela Lavender, a critically acclaimed and award winning actress has worked on stage and screen both big and small. Besides her roles on television in the EastEnders and Manchild, she has been most recently seen in the film Precious, as well as the British Shakespeare Company’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This will be the first time the two have appeared together on screen.
About why he chose to make a film about the Taj Mahal, Sir Kingsley said earlier in a statement, “With my passion for India and the Taj Mahal now becoming one of the seven wonders of the World, I am compelled to ask ‘why’ and ‘how’ this scream of grief frozen in marble came into being.” Adding, “It is an indelible monument to passion and love. How did the building evolve in the first place, that is the question we’re looking at.”
As for who will take on the role of Mumtaz, we hear there are a lot of big name Bollywood actresses in talks for the role, so we will all have to wait and watch!
