Setting a rare record in the Indian film industry,
Dr B.R. Shetty, UAE based billionaire businessman and philanthropist is
investing Rs. 1000 crore (USD 150 million) to produce India’s
biggest ever motion picture, ‘Mahabharata’. This magnum opus is being directed
by noted ad man and advertising film maker V.A Shrikumar Menon. 'The
Mahabharata' will be produced in two parts and is scheduled to go on floor by
September 2018 for a release in early 2020. The second part of the film will be released within
90
days of the first part. The film will be shot primarily in English, Hindi,
Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu and dubbed into major Indian languages and
leading foreign languages.
The film will be a coming together
of the crème de la crème of Indian and global cinema in terms of its cast and
crew. The technical crew would include some of the great names in the world
cinema including some academy winners. The cast will have the best of talents
from Indian cinema as well as some big names from Hollywood. This film will
have an identity across continents, with their representatives donning the
myriad characters in 'The Mahabharata'!
A global team led by an Internationally renowned casting director will
handpick the cast.
Serial entrepreneur and billionaire Dr. B.R. Shetty has been a keen
supporter of Indian arts and culture for over many decades. With his decision
to back 'The Mahabharata', Dr. Shetty will join the league of visionary
producers like Lord Richard Attenbourgh who backed the biopic “Gandhi” which
was based on the life of India’s most famous freedom fighter, and Father of our
nation, which appealed to a global audience.
It remains almost impossible to narrate Mahabharata on the big screen
except by way of adaptation of M T
Vasudevan Nair’s Jnanpeeth Award winning novel Randamoozham (The Second Turn).
This novel narrates Mahabharata through the eyes of Bhima, the second of the
Pandavas. The screenplay is written by the writer himself who holds a record of maximum national awards for screen writing in the
history of Indian cinema
The ancient Sanskrit epic of Mahabharata has been a topic of creative
adaptation in different formats for many decades. There have also been efforts
to render it, but the success of these have been limited to the stage or
serialization for the television audiences. Hence, this project will be the
first of its kind to take the epic which has engaged generations of audiences
on the silver screen at such a grand level. The Indian core team led by Dr.
B.R. Shetty augurs well to ensure that the sanctity and the iconic status of
the epic is upheld.
Dr B.R.Shetty, Founder and Chairman
of UAE Exchange and NMC Healthcare said, “Mahabharata is an epic of all epics.
This movie will be a true 'Make in India' made for the world. 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.” Importantly, am awestruck by the fantastic screenplay by
Sri. MT and I have tremendous faith in the ability of V.A. Shrikumar to paint
this narrative on celluloid. His passion and energy are boundless” Dr. Shetty
added.
Commenting on the initiative, Padma Bhushan M.T. Vasudevan Nair, recipient
of almost every literary award in the India including the Jnanpith Award and
many abroad said “I’m extremely happy
with Dr. B. R. Shetty’s belief in the potential of the story and his passion
and commitment to take it to global audiences. I sincerely congratulate him for
his vision in backing a project of this scale.”
Mr. V A Shrikumar, Director, who has
been living the script and researching for this project for the past few years,
said, “I would like to sincerely thank Dr. B R Shetty for having immense faith
in this project and help bring it to life with his financial commitment &
his innate pride on Indian heritage. We are fully geared to attain the next
level of production quality and visual magic, as well as narrative wizardry
with this initiative.”
About Dr B R Shetty
Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty (known as Dr. B.R. Shetty) is
the Founder and Chairman of Abu Dhabi based nmc group. The conglomerate
includes global institutions like NMC Healthcare, UAE Exchange, Travelex etc.
The group when established in 1975 was initially interested in hospitals, but since then has
diversified into sectors including pharmaceuticals, global financial services,
retail, advertising and information technology.The Enterprise he has built over
the years is truly a metaphor of India’s emerging leadership in a global
marketplace
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