Amitabh Bachchan is far from a household name, well in the Western world at least. In India however, it’s a different story. That all may change though as the Bollywood superstar will make his Hollywood debut in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby.
Bachchan, who was rumoured to make his Hollywood debut a few years ago in Shantaram, a film which is to star Johnny Depp, has arrived in Sydney to shoot the estimated $120 million dollar film.
Bachchan will play Meyer Wolfsheim, a Jewish man Gatsby describes as a gambler who had fixed the World Series, and the mentor to Leonardo DiCaprio‘s character Jay Gatsby. Principle photography for Luhrmann’s 3D epic began this week at Fox Studios in Sydney.
It was also announced the other day that Australian model and Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides actress, Gemma Ward has also joined the adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. The Great Gatsby is expected to shoot until December, at which point Leonardo DiCaprio will go off too shoot Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.
The Great Gatsby stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki , Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Callan McAuliffe, Gemma Ward and Jack Thompson and is due for release in 2012.