Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at an event in Mumbai.
After a five year break from Bollywood, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is now among the industry's busiest actors. She's just been cast as Dalbir Kaur, sister of Sarabjit Singh who died in a Pakistani prison in 2013, in a biopic to be directed by Omung Kumar who last made
Mary Kom.
A statement from producer Sandeep Singh read: "Yes it is true, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be playing the role of Dalbir Kaur Singh. The role demanded a very strong character with a powerful aura, and Aishwarya perfectly fits the bill. She has given spectacular performances in all her previous movies and we are confident that she will do justice to this role. After producing Aligarh and co-producing
Mary Kom, I realized that content driven films are my calling which further motivated me to take up 'Sarabjit' , that will would create an impact and inspire the audience as well as the youth worldwide."
Sarabjit Singh, an Indian resident of the Bhikhiwind village at the Indo-Pak border, was convicted as a terrorist by Pakistan's Supreme Court in 1991. After 22 years on death row, he was attacked by fellow inmates in jail and died in a Lahore hospital six days later.
The role of Sarabjit has not officially been cast as yet.
Aishwarya's comeback film
Jazbaa will release in October, the same month that the biopic of Sarabjit Singh begins shooting in Punjab. It will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next year.
Aishwarya has also signed Karan Johar's
Ae Dil Hain Mushkil and a film with
Kahaani director Sujoy Ghosh.
The 41-year-old actress' last film was 2010's
Guzaarish, and she's been on maternity leave since.