After
the
stupendous
success
of
Ghajini,
Asin
is
busy
learning
the
ancient
form
of
martial
art
Kalaripayattu.
The
Ghajini
starlet
has
signed
an
international
project
opposite
Kamal
Hassan
called
19th
Step.
This
is
her
second
film
with
him
after
Dasavatharam.
The
film
also
stars
Japanse
star
Tadanobu
Asano
in
the
lead.
Sources
close
to
Asin
revealed,
"Asin
will
be
portraying
the
role
of
a
warrior
princess
and
hence
has
been
trained
in
the
ancient
art.
A
local
instructor
trains
her
everyday.
This
film
will
be
her
biggest
project
till
date,
as
the
budget
of
the
film
is
50
million
US
dollars
and
it
is
based
on
the
theme
of
the
origin
of
Martial
Arts
in
Kerala.
Asin
and
Kamal
Hassan
play
important
role
in
safeguarding
these
Martial
Arts
of
Kerala
while
Japanese
actor
Asano
plays
a
blood
thirsty
Samurai
Kenji
seeking
to
conquer
the
ancient
Indian
Martial
Arts
forms
of
Kalaripayattu
(ancestor
of
Karate).
He
learns
the
tough
18
steps
and
masters
the
19th
step
from
an
Indian
guru
played
by
Kamal
Hassan
while
Asin
will
play
a
local
princess."
Kalaripayattu,
an
ancient
martial
art
form
which
originated
in
Kerala,
India,
was
taken
across
the
Himalayas
by
the
Buddhist
monk
Bodhi
Dharma
to
China,
giving
birth
to
Chinese
Kung
Fu.
Kalaripayattu
in
its
current
form
is
1,500
years
old.
The
movie
will
be
directed
by
Bharath
Bala
and
produced
by
Bharath
Bala
Productions
and
Walt
Disney.
It
will
be
released
in
three
languages:
English,
Japanese
and
Tamil.
The
shooting
of
the
film
will
begin
in
the
last
week
of
June
2009
after
Kamal
Hassan
wraps
up
Marmayogi
and
once
Asin
masters
the
art.
It
will
be
shot
in
Kerala.
Meanwhile
Asin
is
busy
wrapping
up
her
shoot
of
Vipul
Shah's
London
Dreams
with
Salman
Khan
and
Ajay
Devgan
before
beginning
her
shoot
on
19th
Step.