A new actress is set to join the ranks of Bollywood's leading ladies. It's the velvet-voiced Asha Bhosle, who will make her big screen debut later this year in producer Nitin Shankar's first Hindi feature film Maaee.

Bhosle will play the lead protagonist, a woman who is abandoned by her only son and goes to live with her daughter and son-in-law. Revolving around the mother-daughter relationship in contemporary India, the film has Padmini Kolhapure in the daughter's role. "This is something I haven't done so far. The moment the story was narrated to me, I connected with it very strongly, especially with the mother's character even though it was far removed from my own life and experience. I just couldn't let this opportunity pass," says Bhosle. In fact, it was Bhosle's son, Anand Bhosle, who gave the script a thumbs up and urged her to take it up.

Directed by Mahesh Kodiyal, Maaee goes on the floor in April and will be shot entirely in Mumbai. The film is being produced by Subhash Dawar and Nitin Shankar of Alliance Entertainment & Rhythm D'vine Entertainment Pvt Ltd.