Italian actress Monica Belluci has finally consented to play Sonia Gandhi in a biographical film on the latter's life. The film will be directed by Jagmohan Mundra. The shooting is expected to start by September.

Sunanda Murli Manohar, producer, has confirmed the news. She said: "We were waiting for Monica to hear the script. Her confirmation finally puts a seal on the deal. She's excited about the prospect of playing Sonia Gandhi. The script by Carl Austen has gone through a number of re-drafts and now we're ready to roll."

The film will be in English and is based on Rasheed Kidwai's book ‘Sonia – A Biography'.

Aishwarya Rai and Preity Zinta too were reportedly considered for the role but Monica due to her striking physical resemblance to Gandhi was believed to be the best suited and hence selected.

The film is however not an official biograhy. Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Sonia Gandhi said, "We are not aware of the film. But as far as cooperating with its production is concerned, we will not do it as it is not an official bio-pic."