Mandakini in Buddha?

Sanskriti Media whose show on the life of Gautam Buddha directed by Dinesh K Dube is almost ready and is slated to go on air in May on Imagine. It will be a Sunday morning show and if all goes well will air in the 10 to 11 am slot. Interestingly, ‘waterfall’ actress Mandakini could well be part of the cast. A source informs, “The casting is almost complete. Fresh face Siddhartha will play the title role of Buddha. Shahbaaz Khan, Pramod Moutho, Hemant Pandey and Kamal Adib will play pivotal roles. But the most important inclusion could be of Mandakini’s. The producers have approached the actress as she is into Buddhism. Sameer Dharmadhikari has been approached to play Siddhartha’s father in the show.” Mandakini, who is best remembered for her title role and her white sari under the waterfall number in Ram Teri Ganga Maili, is now reportedly married to a Buddhist monk Dr. Kagyur T. Rinpoche Thakur. We called S Ramachandran, the creative director of the show for confirmation and he says, “We have approached Mandakini through a source. She has expressed interest. We are waiting for her acceptance.” Now, that could be a coup of sorts to watch Mandakini after so many years…