IT Experts Seek the Face of Buddha

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IT experts help in search for actor to play Buddha in Indian-made movie

 

Mon Jan 9, 2:43 AM ET

 

NEW DELHI (AFP) - US 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.

 

 

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 dollar film by acclaimed Indian director

Shekhar Kapur, Business Standard newspaper said on Monday.

 

"The software engineers have come up with wonderful images based on

history and other information available from various Buddhist

societies," B.K. Modi, chairman 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 6th 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).

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