B.R. Shetty, a billionaire from the United Arab Emirates has promised to invest in “The Mahabharata”, India’s most expensive movie. The adaptation of the book is set to be directed bu V.A. Shrikumar Menon. He promised to invest an amount of Dh550.8 million or $150 million (Rs. 1000crore) in the magnum opus.
This movie is expected to make all other Indian movies with big budgets like “Robot 2.0” look like dwarfs. The production of “The Mahabharata” will begin in September 2018 and is set to release by early 2020. The movie will be mainly made in English, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil. It is also expected to be dubbed in most of the Indian and foreign languages.
Speaking of cast and crew, a press release said that it will have best of Indian and global stars and include ‘Academy Award Winners’ in the crew. The movie will be an adaptation of the Vasudevan Nair’s book Randamoozham(The Second Turn). This book narrates the proceedings of Mahabharatha from Bhima’s, the second Pandava’s, viewpoint. On Sunday, Mohanlal confirmed through Facebook that he has been cast as Bhima in the movie.
He wrote, “I have read MT Vasudevan Nair’s novel Randamoozham many times and have been deeply influenced by it… I feel honored that my name has been heard for the role of Bhima ever since the news of a cinematic adaptation started doing rounds. I feel humbled and honored at the same time that the author himself has envisioned me for enacting Bhima.”
Shetty, the founder and chairman of UAE Exchange and NMC Healthcare and investor in Nair’s movie said, “The Mahabharata is an epic of all epics. This movie will be a true ‘Make in India’ made for the world. The Mahabharata mesmerizes as well as brings focus on life and living. I believe that this film will not only set global benchmarks but also reposition India and its prowess in mythological storytelling. I am confident that this film will be adapted in over 100 languages and reach over 3 billion people across the world.”
Indian movies have already gone global after the S.S. Rajamouli’s movies “Baahubali” came out. This upcoming movie is expected to be a milestone in the Indian Film Industry.
