Mallika Sherawat is to play the role of Jesus Christ's confidante in an American film, The Aquarian Gospel.
Australian-born Drew Heriot - director of the docu-feature - The Secret (2006) - which sold the largest number of DVDs in the US that year - is at the helm of the film. The Bible is silent on Christ's life between 13 and 30, and down the centuries, many theories have been constructed about what he did in these years. Among the more popular beliefs is that Christ visited Kashmir.Heriot's film chronicles Jesus' journey from Israel as a young boy, through India, Tibet, Persia, Greece and Egypt. In the movie, he encounters people of all creeds and meets sages from different faiths.

Mallika will play Saraswati - one of Yeshua's (Jesus) loyal friends - whom he bonds with, while he travels through India.

Heriot says that Mallika is not just a pretty face, she is versatile, has a background in philosophy, and so, she will convey the richness of the subject matter.

The actress - who has broken taboos in the Indian film industry with bold movies such as Khwahish and Murder - feels The Aquarian Gospel also breaks a different kind of taboo by discussing the lost years of Jesus.

"I find that in most mythological and spiritual film stories, women seem to be lacking in any true wisdom or a sense of humour. I look forward to bringing both these qualities to this character," said Mallika.

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