Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has been roped in to star in an India-China joint film venture.

Tentatively titled "The Desire", the film will show Shilpa rubbing shoulders with Chinese superstar Xia Yu, who is considered the Shah Rukh Khan of China.

The film is being co-produced by Sharad Hegde and Tracy Shiyun and directed by R. Sarath.

"It is a very prestigious project for us. We have tried to go beyond the boundary of land as well as shackled emotions in the film. It deals with the sensibilities of creative people in the most sensitive manner," said Hegde in a statement released here Friday.

"The Desire" revolves around Goutami (Shilpa), an accomplished Odissi dancer and a talented artist Jai Leang (Yu) and follows the journey of their respective lives until they are separated and brought together again by destiny.

With a background score from Indian music maestro A.R. Rahman, other actors in the film include Jayaprada, Anupam Kher, Sachin Khedekar, Sheetal Menon and Nakul Vaid, apart from Shilpa and Yu in the lead.

Sarath, who is working with Shilpa for the first time is gaga over the actress and thinks her to be the "perfect" choice for the role.

"'The Desire' is a passionate film mainly dealing with dance, music, art, culture and emotions and Shilpa is perfect for the role as she is talented, beautiful and a very graceful dancer. She completely fits the role," Sarath said.

The film goes on floors Jan 11 in Kerala.

However, Yu is not the first Chinese actor to star alongside a Bollywood actor.

Gordon Liu, veteran Chinese martial arts film actor, will be seen in Nikhil Advani's much-awaited action comedy venture "Chandni Chowk To China" releasing Jan 16. Shilpa Shetty to star in India-China film