Washington,
(ANI):
Singer/actress
Jennifer
Hudson
has
been
roped
in
to
play
the
lead
role
in
a
new
film
Winnie,
which
is
about
the
former
wife
of
South
Africa"s
first
black
president,
Nelson
Mandela.
The
film
will
be
directed
by
Darrell
J.
Roodt
and
the
production
will
begin
on
May
30
in
the
South
African
locations
of
Johannesburg,
Capt
Town,
and
the
Transkei
and
Robben
Island
where
Nelson
spent
18
of
his
27
years
in
prison.
The
script
is
based
on
the
Anne
Marie
du
Preez
Bezdrob
biography
Winnie
Mandela:A
Life.
While
Nelson
Mandela
is
a
universally
sympathetic
figure
for
his
struggle
against
apartheid,
his
former
wife
has
been
a
complicated
figure.
She
has
been
depicted
as
the
mother
and
wife
who
was
a
steadfast
supporter
of
her
activist
husband
and
who
was
jailed
herself
for
campaigning
for
his
release
and
fighting
against
apartheid.
Her
image
was
subsequently
tarnished
by
association
with
a
bodyguard
who
murdered
a
14-year
old
alleged
informer,
and
she
was
later
convicted
of
fraud.
“I
was
compelled
and
moved
when
I
read
the
script," Variety
magazine
quoted
Hudson
as
saying.
“Winnie
Mandela
is
a
complex
and
extraordinary
woman
and
I"m
honoured
to
be
the
actress
asked
to
portray
her.
This
is
a
powerful
part
of
history
that
should
be
told,"
she
added.