India's formulaic Hindi film industry, is planning a movie on the life of Australian missionary Graham Staines who was murdered along with his two young sons by a Hindu zealot in 1999.
The film, "Murder of Missionary", will be made in English and Hindi and focus on the life and work of Staines during his stay in India.
"We are giving final touches to the script," said director of the film Sunil Agnihotri.
"We have met Glady Staines, wife of Staines, and she said she would like to see the final script before we start the shooting of the film."
Agnihotri said Glady Staines had okayed the making of a film on her husband last year when she was in Bombay.
Staines, a 57-year-old Baptist who had worked in India with leprosy patients since 1965, was sleeping in his station wagon in a village in the eastern state of Orissa on January 23, 1999 when he was attacked by a mob shouting anti-Christian slogans.
Staines and his two sons, Timothy and Philip, were burnt alive by the mob led by a Hindu hardliner Dara Singh, who was last month sentenced to death by a court in Orissa's capital Bhubaneswar.
The court jailed 12 others for life in the killing of Staines and his sons aged eight and 10.
Singh was a local leader of the Hindu hardline party the Bajrang Dal which has frequently criticized the presence of Christian missionaries in India.
They say the missionaries are not in the country to do social service but that their main agenda is to convert the local population to Christianity. Around three percent of India's billion-plus population are Christians.
Agnihotri said now that the trial was over, he was now going full steam ahead with the film.
"We were waiting for the outcome of the judgement. We didnt want to make the film early because the case was going on in the courts," he told AFP.
Singh's role will be played by actor Irfan Khan in the film, while Agnihotri plans to visit the US to shortlist some Hollywood actors to play the lead role of Staines.
"I have no idea right now who will play the title role of Staines but it has to be someone from Hollywood," Agnihotri said.
"We will also have other actors to play the role of Glady Staines and her children."
Agnihotri said the movie on Staines was justified.
"I was very hurt when I heard the news for the first time that Staines was burnt to death," he said.
"I felt this was totally wrong and no one should do such an act to kill such a nice person. He was helping the leprosy patients with utmost sincerity.
"With his death, there has been a great loss to them and the underprivileged people of Orissa."
Agnihotri declined to divulge the details of the budget until the final script and cast are decided.
"I want to give a message through the film that religious enmity does not serve any purpose. It only creates hatred among human beings," he added.