Row over Taj Mahal film with Ben Kingsley and Aishwarya Rai

Will the beautiful Indian actress Aishwarya Rai ever get to play the part of Mumtaz Mahal, who inspired one of the great romances of Indian history? Will Ben Kingsley, 20 years after winning an Oscar for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi, fulfill his dream of playing the Mughal emperor Shah Jehan who loved his wife Mumtaz so much that when she died giving birth to their 14th child, he spent 20 years building the Taj Mahal in her memory?

Why the doubt? Because an ugly scene has broken out in India following Kingsley's announcement that he intends to make a film of the story behind the Taj Mahal. It is due to start shooting next April in Agra, where the Taj Mahal monument - where both Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jehan are buried - stands on the banks of the Yamuna river.

According to the Times of India, two previous films about the story of the Taj Mahal have been made and neither could sustain itself at the box office. Now Akhbar Khan, who made one of them - Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story - has suggested that Sir Ben shouldn't even bother shooting his film. He has invited the Englishman to a screening at the Dubai International Film Festival to prove his point.

"I have invited Ben Kingsley and after watching my film he will realise that there is nothing left for him to show that I have not shown already," says Akbar Khan. "I have covered political intrigues, Shah Jahan's relation with his son Aurangzeb and daughter Jahan Ara, the construction of the Taj Mahal, etc. So everything including the history, the culture, the chemistry, the passion and the conflicts have been shown and I seriously doubt there is anything new that Sir Ben can show."

Sir Ben is understood to be aware of Akhbar's film and its failure at the box office - which is why he intends to "concentrate even more on the script and the research involved".

The story goes that Shah Jahan was still a teenager when he fell in love with Mumtaz at first sight - making Aishwarya Rai, once famously described by fellow actress Julia Roberts as the most beautiful woman in the world, perfect casting. Kingsley offered her the part when the two met on the first day of filming for The Last Legion. Aishwarya Rai said recently: "He walked up to me and said 'I've this idea'. You know, how many Taj Mahal scripts have come my way? I told Ben there have been many occasions when this subject has come to me. But there was something exceptionally interesting about the way he approached the subject. After The Last Legion I kind of put it in the back of my mind. But earlier this year he confirmed it was on."

So does Akhbar Khan still believe he can persuade Kingsley to give up? "I strongly believe that after watching my film Sir Ben will be dissuaded from making his version," says Khan.