Shooting for the multi-million pound film on Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been delayed due to differences between the producer and director on getting her consent for the project, according to sources close to the production.

The film's producer, Murli Manohar, is inclined to get Gandhi's consent while director Jagmohan Mundhra believes that securing the book's rights on which the film is to be based is enough to start production.

The film is based on Indian journalist Rasheed Kidwai's "Sonia - A Biography".

"We are trying to get consent from all concerned to make a good film that would be appreciated by one and all," Murli Manohar told.

He added that he was unable to commit a date when the filming will begin since "some procedural formalities" were yet to be completed.

Italian actress Monica Bellucci will portray Gandhi in the film.

The sources said that getting a formal consent from Gandhi for the film was a near impossibility. According to Mundhra, a formal consent was not required.

"The script is, after all, based on the book authored by Rasheed Kidwai which has been in circulation for three years and there have been no objections to its contents," said Mundhra.

He said there was nothing unusual about making a film on a living personality, since there were several examples of such films, including those on Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali and Erin Brockovich.

Murli Manohar said that nobody from the Congress party was in touch with him on the film, and added that his biggest challenge was to "get the consent from all concerned".

The film project was launched in 2005 at a glittering function in Mumbai by former British industry secretary Patricia Hewitt as part of the "Bollywood Initiative", which allows British investment in the Indian film industry.

The film, to be modelled on Hollywood's "Evita", is the first of six projects under the initiative jointly launched by MATV, Leicester, in association with Murli Manohar's CEE (I) TV Entertainment, Britain, and is supported by Mars Entertainment Group and Motion Pictures Partners International, Britain.