Bollywood actor Mahima Chowdhury is to star in Bengali filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly's next film "Sir".

Mahima will play a woman whose values undergo a change after meeting a blind teacher played by Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee.

The film would be shot in the Kalimpong hills of Darjeeling district, where Mahima spent several years of her student life.

Says director Kaushik Ganguly: "Mahima has spent her school days in Kalimpong and my wife Churni (a popular Bengali actress) was her classmate. Mahima can speak chaste Bengali."

Ganguly's last film, "Shunya E Buke" (Empty Canvas), dealt with the topic of flat-chested women and was critically acclaimed.

"I want Mahima to speak broken Bengali in the film because she plays a woman who comes from outside Bengal. She has to work hard for that," said Ganguly.

"The film depicts a very romantic relationship between Mahima (a solicitor driven by business considerations) and Prosenjit (a blind teacher) who come together and forge a bonding in seven days," said Ganguly, known for his tele- films on bold and sensitive subjects.

The film also dwells on environmental degradation and has a "save green" message.

Of late, several Bollywood stars are acting in films by Kolkata filmmakers.

Rekha has been cast by Gautam Ghose in his next film "Yatra" while Abhishek Bachchan is in Rituparno Ghose's "Antarmahal".

Bipasha Basu has agreed to act in Rituparno's next film. Aishwarya Rai had done the lead in his "Chokher Bali" (Bengali) and then in his Hindi film "Raincoat".

Sameera Reddy and Rahul Bose also play lead roles in Buddhadeb Dasgupta's latest film "Kalpurush-Memories in the Mist".