Shilpa Shetty will play Sita in an international version of the Ramayan

Shilpa Shetty seems to be getting luckier with every passing day. The latest is that the actress has bagged a role opposite Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves. Even as Raj Kumar Santoshi plans his Ramayan with Ajay Devgan and Kajol as Ram and Sita, US-based Gujarati entrepreneur Uru Patel is all set to make his long-cherished dream project, Hanuman.

The enterprising Patel has roped in Hollywood’s resident pin-up boy Keanu Reeves to play Rama. After considering a number of top-notch leading ladies, including Aishwarya Rai, for the part of Sita, Patel has finally zeroed in on Shilpa Shetty for the coveted part.

Luis Mandoki, who directed Meg Ryan as Andy Garcia’s alcoholic wife in When A Man Loves A Woman and Kevin Costner-Robin Wright Penn in the romantic weepie, Message In A Bottle, has been roped in to direct this multi-million international take on Hanuman, expected to be the most expensive film on an Indian theme ever.

A source very close to the project says, “Patel has worked for almost five years to get every detail right. The special effects will be at par with those in Spiderman. He chose Keanu Reeves because of his angelic face. Shilpa, of course is the international face of India now, and thus a natural choice to play the mythological character… After Keanu and Shilpa do Rama and Sita, the Ramayan will never be the same again,” chuckles the source.

The project is expected to take off early next year.