NEW DELHI, Jan 9: Software engineers have been called in to help in the search for an actor to play the role of Lord Buddha in a major Indian movie, a newspaper report said on Monday.

The engineers in Silicon Valley have generated computer images of the Buddha which will be used in the global hunt for an actor to play the lead in the 120 million dollar film by acclaimed Indian director Shekhar Kapur, Business Standard newspaper said.

“The software engineers have come up with wonderful images based on history and other information available from various Buddhist societies,” B.K. Modi, chairman of Buddha Films which is producing the feature, told the paper.

“We need a face that fits those images,” Mr Modi said from Beverly Hills, California, where his company is based. “The character of the man who will play the Buddha is also important.”

In Sept 2004 Shekhar Kapur met exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at his home in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala for guidance on the film, which will focus on the Buddha attaining enlightenment and on his teachings.

“A leading actor of the Japanese film industry has approached us for the role,” said Mr Modi. “But it was not an ideal match. We want to do the film in a way that it becomes a reference point for the Buddhists and for mankind.”

The Buddha was born in the 6th Century BC in Kapilavastu, on the border of present day India and Nepal, into a princely family. —AFP