Sir Ben Kingsley's SBK Pictures has announced the historical epic Taj slated to begin filming mid to late 2010. Set to star in the film are Oscar winner Kingsley as Shah Jahan, and renowned international film star, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Mumtaz Mahal, Jahan's devoted wife, whom he ultimately created the Taj Mahal to immortalize his love for her.

The prestige project is out to directors, with a screenplay having just been completed by British playwright and novelist, David Ashton. The film will be produced by Kingsley, along with his producing partners Simone Sheffield (Precious) and Valerie Hoffman (Precious).

The film is one of several SBK Pictures has in active development, as principals of the company travel to India at the end of this month to attend the International Film Festival of India in GOA and meet with Indian investors for the Taj project, scheduled to be made in the $25-$30 million dollar range.

"With my passion for India and the Taj Mahal now becoming one of the Seven Wonders of the World, I am compelled to ask "why" and "how" this scream of grief frozen in marble came into being.

We have a beautiful script by David Ashton and my colleagues Simone and Valerie are poised to make the long period of hard work justified in a film. We so look forward to working with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and all the other great creative souls this project is already attracting, " said Kingsley.

The company just recently returned from the inaugural Doha/Tribeca Film Festival in Qatar, which hosted Kingsley, Martin Scorsese, and Robert De Niro, among others.

SBK Pictures was formed in 2007 by Sir Ben Kingsley and his producing partners Simone Sheffield and Valerie Hoffman. The first project for the production house was as co-producer on Sony Pictures Classic's The Wackness, starring Kingsley, Famke Janssen, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby and Mary-Kate Olsen.

Kingsley's other upcoming completed films include Fifty Dead Men Walking, a thriller set against the dangerous backdrop of 1980s Ireland; Martin Scorsese's 1950s drama Shutter Island, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo and Michelle Williams, and recently completed the Disney's Prince of Persia, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Mike Newell, co-starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Alfred Molina.