MUMBAI: For the first time in his 40-year career, Amitabh Bachchan will be making his Hollywood debut with Baz Luhrmann‘s The Great Gatsby that will have Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire in lead roles.

"Amitabh, who is lovingly called Big B in the Indian film industry, is the latest to join the cast of the romantic drama, along with Scottish-Australian actress Isla Fisher. He will play the role of Meyer Wolfsheim," said an official statement from Warner Bros Pictures.

The $125 million project is a 3D adaptation of the classic F Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same name. The principal photography of the movie began this week in Sydney.

"Fitzgerald loved the movies and was a passionate believer in the power of cinema. The Great Gatsby has been adapted for the screen no less than four times. Fitzgerald‘s story defies time and geography. The vision and the goal of our remarkable cast and creative is to do justice to the deftness of Fitzgerald‘s telling, and illuminate its big ideas and humanity. This is our challenge and our adventure," said Luhrmann.

Others who can be seen in the film are Joel Edgerton, Carey Mulligan and debutante Elizabeth Debicki.

The film will be distributed in 3D and 2D by Warner Bros Pictures and in certain territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.