Co-scripted with Tinker Lindsay, Peter Chelsom’s regular writing partner, Nalin (“Samsara,” “Valley of Flowers”) depicts Buddha on a kind of road trip with a group of friends and followers.

“We aim to show the man behind the myth,” Nalin told Variety. “There were many others on this journey, but only one achieved Nirvana.”

Nalin has hired U.S. casting director Victoria Thomas (“The Last Samurai,” “Ali”) to give his upcoming “Buddha” a stellar international cast with a 16-week shoot starting in October.

Locations will likely include Nepal, India and Thailand with studio work in Bangkok.

The multi-national approach is a departure from pic’s original conception, which set Nalin as a director for hire on a Barnet Bain production, and reflects volume of international co-production offers received.

Pic will now be produced by Nalin’s Monsoon Films on a $15 million-$20 million budget largely provided by India’s second-largest automaker Mahindra & Mahindra, which recently set up a film fund. Mahindra has the capacity to fully finance the production and can now assess offers from sales companies, would-be co-producers and studio distribs in North America.

“We will give the film a contemporary feel. The story has so many parallels with today, complete with violence and disaffected youth,” Nalin said. “You won’t have to be Buddhist to watch.”

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