Om Puri to act opposite Helen Mirren in 'The Hundred Foot Journey'

Veteran actor Om Puri, who is often remembered for his cameo in Richard Attenborough’s, Oscar Winning Film “Gandhi”, has been casted in Lasse Hallstrom's next project titled, 'The Hundred Foot Journey', alongside award-winning actress Helen Mirren and Manish Dayal. Hallstrom has previously directed films like `ABBA: The Movie`,`The Cider House Rules`, `Chocolat` and `Salmon Fishing in the Yemen`.

The movie is a drama based and revolves around the culinary battle between an Indian restaurant and a Michelin starred French eatery. The screen-play has been penned down by Steve Knight.

A source said, "The makers were looking for a particular character in the film and went through many known actors. Finally, Om was approached for the role as they felt that he fits the role perfectly. He is expected to fly out of the country as soon as the film is ready to go on floors."

It's not the first time for Puri to work in a Hollywood project. His earlier English language work includes films like Richard Attenborough's 'Gandhi', the BAFTA winning movie 'East Is East' and the Patrick Swayze starrer 'City of Joy'.

'The Hundred Foot Journey' is co-produced by Steven Speilberg and Oprah Winfrey. The film will undergo production phase in September and Disney plans to release it in USA in next August.