Los Angeles, Nov 19 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The gorgeous Oscar-winning actress/singer Jennifer Hudson is all set to play the role of Winnie Mandela, the controversy-plagued ex- wife of South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela in a new movie called Winnie, Variety reported on Wednesday. This biopic film is based on the Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob biography, “Winnie Mandela: A Life”, according to Variety. The actual production of the movie is set to begin next year from May 30 onwards, in the South African locations of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Transkei and Robben Island. These are the very places where Nelson Mandela served 18 of the 27 years of his imprisonment.

Besides acting, the multi-talented actress Jennifer Hudson is also expected to sing the film’s theme song. “I was compelled and moved when I read the script,” Hudson said. “Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honored to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told.”

Winnie Mandela was the apartheid leader Nelson Mandela’s wife and they divorced in 1996.

This legendary movie Winnie is to be directed by Darrell J Roodt, the veteran South African filmmaker whose 2006 film Yesterday was Africa’s Best Foreign Film nominee. He has also directed Cry, The Beloved Country and Sarafina!