Bollywood and Hollywood will collaborate on a two-part epic about the life of former Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.

The UK Telegraph says the biopic is due to start filming in April of next year in India, the UK, Russia and the US. ‘Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story,’ has a budget of $65 million and an international cast and crew.

Madhuri Dixit, a.k.a. “The Queen of Bollywood,” will play the title role. Helen Mirren is in talks to portray Queen Elizabeth II, again. Tom Hanks and Tommy Lee Jones are attached to play Lyndon B Johnson and Richard Nixon. British actress Emily Watson will reportedly play Margaret Thatcher, and Albert Finney is expected to take the role of Peter Ustinov, who was in New Delhi waiting to meet the Indian leader when she was killed in 1984.

Director Krishna Shah has been penning the script for over two decades. He told the Telegraph, “The story is of how Indira is a mother in every aspect of her life, and how she used her instincts, compassion and tough love to hold the nation together — ultimately ending with her violent death and martyrdom to the cause of national unity.”

Shah said he hopes the collaboration between Bollywood and Hollywood will lead to more such tie-ups in the future.

Variety also recently reported on the film and said that it will be in “Hinglish” — meaning a mix of Hindi and English — and that there will be songs, though it is not a Bollywood-style film.

Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.

The first of the two installments of ‘Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story’ is expected for release at the end of 2011.

(Photo by PR Photos)

Story provided by the Dish Information Corporation