Looks like Urmila Matondkar is all set to go the spiritual way with two new films - "Varanasi" shot in the Hindu holy city and "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara", a Gandhian film.

"Maine...", which is celebrated Assamese director Jahnu Barua's first Hindi film, is the story of a man who believes his life is entwined with Mahatma Gandhi's.

It co-stars Anupam Kher and Urmila plays his daughter. Kher is also the producer of the film expected to hit the floors May 27.

"I was in Kher's directorial debut 'Om Jai Jagdish'. So when he offered me this film on Jahnu Barua's behalf there was no way I could say no," Urmila told IANS.

"It's an interesting subject with a great deal of emotional velocity and a good opportunity for me since I get to interact with Anupam," she said, speaking from Varanasi, where she is shooting for Pankaj Parasher's film of the same name.

After Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Black", Barua's film looks like another attempt to explore the unusual bonding between the lead pair divided by several generations.

Explains Anupam Kher: "The last film I produced was Rituparno Ghosh's "Bariwali" in Bengali. After that there was neither the funds nor any project that excited me enough.

"But when Jahnu Barua came with his script, I was enthused. It's a very powerful script. Some friends agreed to pool in money and we all decided to produce the film."

For Urmila, who was last seen over one and a half years ago in "Ek Hasina Thi", the new film will be totally new territories.

She will start shooting for "Main..." as soon as she returns to Bombay from the sets of "Varanasi" co-starring Dimple Kapadia and Naseeruddin Shah.

She has also just wrapped up the shooting for iDreams Productions' "Naina", a supernatural thriller which is her next film to hit theatres after 'Ek...".

Urmila says her bonding with Dimple in Varanasi has made her closer than ever with the senior star.

"We had got to know each other well during another film 'Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain'. Now when we are in alien city we spend almost all our time together. We accompany each other practically everywhere," she said.

"It's so rare for two actresses to bond so beautifully. I've been lucky. I hit it off well with Shabanaji during 'Tehzeeb'. Now I've found another friend in Dimpleji."

But after "Ek..." wasn't it too long a gap for the next film?

"That's right. It's about time I was seen in some more films," Urmila maintained.

"My next release 'Naina' is a supernatural thriller. I haven't done anything like it before. Again 'Varanasi' is totally new territory, and so is Barua's film. For me, the challenge of doing a new film is to go into unexplored territory."