Leonardo DiCaprio Won't Play Persian Poet Rumi In The Biopic

Thousands of people signed an online petition against casting Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio as a protagonist in a biopic on the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi.

Reportedly, more than 5,000 people signed a ‘Care2 petition' calling for a Middle Eastern actor to play the poet and philosopher. The petitioners called it the "Hollywood whitewashing'' for not giving Muslim actors positive roles and typecasting them as negative only.

However, reports have now emerged that the makers of the film have not approached ‘The Revenant' actor. Sources added that though the Academy Award winning actor was the top choice of screenwriter David Franzoni and producer Stephen Joel Brown, the makers have not formally reached out to DiCaprio about the project.

Sources close to the actor added that The Departed star is not likely to pursue the project as he is busy with his forthcoming climate-change documentary. Meanwhile, The Wolf of Wall Street actor has not signed any film after his last film, which fetched him the elusive Oscar.