Shilpa Shetty, who seems to be taking a respite from the big screen after making her presence felt on small screen, will be back soon, as the actress is all set for her new role. Shilpa will be seen in an Indo-Chinese production wherein she will play the character of late Protima Bedi, an Odissi dancer-cum-model.

Protima Bedi who had her own ways of doing things as she led life on her own rules was Director Kabir Bedi’s first wife, mother of Pooja Bedi and son Siddharth.

It is said that Shipa was the natural choice that came to film maker’s mind as she bore closest resemblance in terms of looks and body language to the dancer who died at the age of 40. Shilpa on the other hand is leaving no stones unturned on her part as she has already started learning ‘Odissi’ dance from one of the Protima’s dance teachers and is extensively studying the dancer’s life through the books written on her.

The film which will be released in English will be directed by highly acclaimed Malayalam Director, Sarath Kumar and will be shot at Nrityagram (outskirts of Bangalore) which was Protima’s dance academy and at Kerala, Bangalore and Kuala Lampur.