New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS): Bollywood badman Gulshan Grover has been roped in as the lead opposite Mexican beauty Salma Hayek in Hollywood director Bill Duke's next film "The Driver".

"I was in LA (Los Angeles) and Bill Duke saw me at a charity event. Later on a meeting was fixed and we met where I read the script, liked it and signed it on," Gulshan told IANS.

Duke has earlier wielded the megaphone for movies like "Not Easily Broken", "Hoodlum", "A Rage in Harlem", Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" and "The Cemetry Club" to name a few.

"Because the lead actor in 'The Driver' will be acting with a range of Hollywood stars I wanted to cast an Indian actor with talent, range, experience and ability to improvise, I chose Gulshan Grover over many because he has what I wanted," Duke said in a statement.

A story about hope, the movie shows Gulshan's character as a rank-and-file accountant, who is doing what's expected of him, until he finally decides to risk all and drags his wife (Salma Hayek) with him on a journey to go after his dreams.

Along the way, he encounters numerous people and situations who inspire and often horrify him, sometimes even pushing and shoving him into giving it all before he could reach his destiny.

Various Hollywood stars like Will Smith, Janet Jackson, Whoopie Goldberg and Queen Latifa, NBA player Kobe Bryant and many famous comedians will play themselves in guest roles in the movie.

Gulshan is also set to feature in Hollywood movies "Prisoners of the Sun" and "Nephilim", British picture "Honour Killing" and an Indo-French collaboration with participation from Unicef titled "I Am Kalam".

He has earlier worked in foreign projects and collaborations like Tibetan film "We're No Monks", Italian movie "Les Mysteres de Sadjurah", "Blind Ambition", "Sweet Amerika" and "My Bollywood Bride", to name a few.