Helen Mirren to play Queen in Indira Gandhi biopic

Veteran actress Helen Mirren is reportedly set to reprise her role as British monarch Queen Elizabeth II in Indian-origin filmmaker Krishna Shah's upcoming biopic on Indira Gandhi.

Mirren, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Elizabeth in 2006 movie The Queen, is being lined up to tackle the role again in Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story, a two-part biopic about the former Indian prime minister who was assassinated in 1984.

Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Tommy Lee Jones are also in talks to join the cast, playing former US presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon respectively, while British actress Emily Watson could portray former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The first film is tentatively scheduled to release by 2010 end.