Madhuri Dixit is ambassador for tiger conservation project

Madhuri Dixit has been appointed brand ambassador for a fundraising project for the conservation of Asian elephants and tigers.

The actress launched the "Emeralds for Elephants" project on behalf of Gemfields, a Zambia-based emerald mining company.

Speaking at the fundraising event, Dixit said: "This national heritage animal in India is now seriously under threat since its habitat - forests - is disappearing at an alarming rate.

"Many instances of human-elephant conflict have been reported in the country. This would not have happened if elephants had their own space and humans had not cut forests for farmlands, settlements, industries, roads or railways," she said.

Gemfields has collaborated with the World Land Trust and Wildlife Trust of India to raise funds for the protection of Asian elephants and tigers.

Devdas star Dixit recently announced her to return to Bollywood and is reported to be starring in an Indian version of Freaky Friday.

Sexy bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra to play Indira Gandhi?

Super hit bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit backed out from the project on personal grounds, Indian origin US filmmaker Krishna Shah is now considering casting Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra in the lead role in a biopic on late prime minister Indira Gandhi.

It will be a big-budget two-part movie on the life of the Indian leader who was known as Iron Lady. Shah is working on the casting with Academy Award winning make-up artiste Jenny Shircore.After going through the photographs of many Indian actresses, Shircore believes that Priyanka is the only Bollywood actress whom she can make look like Indira Gandhi after some prosthetic work on her face.Priyanka is the one who can fit in the character of Indira, but it will be too premature to talk about casting as we have not approached anybody as yet," Shah said in a statement.Shah is reportedly also in conversation with other actors like Albert Finney, Emily Watson, Tom Hanks and Tommy Lee Jones to play other characters in the film.

The movie will be based on Indira Gandhi's life till the 1971 war, while part two will look more into her personal life as a mother to her sons -- Rajiv, who succeeded her as the prie minister.The script of the movie has also undergone changes.The script has been reworked after I got my hands on Richard Nixon’s personal tapes related to the 1971 Bangladesh War. My research has changed the script a lot and now we are looking at casting an appropriate face for Indira Gandhi’s character," said Shah.