New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS): On his 67th birthday Thursday, filmmaker Subhash Ghai announced that Bengali girl Mishti will play the lead in his 19th film "Kaanchi".

Having discovered talents like Manisha Koirala, Jackie Shroff and Mahima Chowdhary, Ghai admits he was on an "intense struggle" to find his Kaanchi.

"I went on auditioning the most beautiful girls and the talented ones; around 350 girls were auditioned to get the right Kaanchi, the way I had imagined in my script. I found so many beautiful girls with talent but could not find my Kaanchi in them till I saw a picture of Mishti, who is from Kolkata," Ghai said in a statement.

"As I auditioned Mishti, I knew in the very first shot that she was the Kaanchi I was looking for," he added.

The male lead in the film is Kartik Tiwari, who was last seen in "Pyaar Ka Punchnama", and will soon be seen in "Akaash Vani".

Ghai says: "It is really a tough job to write a good script which promises to be a blockbuster, as well as a great story with great characters, particularly the protagonist. And the tougher job is when you decide to pick up a newcomer to play the title role instead of an established star."