MUMBAI: Manisha Koirala is set to make her directorial debut with a film based on the life of Gautam Buddha.

The actress is highly inspired by the life of Buddha and when she was approached to direct the film, she immediately agreed to take over the mantle. Produced by a Sri Lankan, the film will be shot in Sri Lanka.

It may be recalled that since a long time, a few filmmakers were contemplating doing a project on Buddha but nothing transpired.

Nearly 12 years ago, Mira Nair abandoned her film on Buddha because Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci made Little Buddha with Keanu Reeves as Siddhartha. Shyam Benegal was to direct a film on Buddha in 2007 with Hrithik Roshan in the lead but since the film went over-budget, it had to be shelved.

Later, Ashutosh Gowarikar revived the project and conducted a nationwide hunt for a newcomer to play Buddha. A lot of high profile international technicians were roped in for the magnum opus but the film, co-produced by B. K. Modi, also went over-budget.