Disney Hostar India will produce a two-part live-action feature based on the Indian epic the Mahabharata. The film will be made by the director Abhishek Kapoor and written by author-historian Ashok Banker. Mahabharata has a deep emotional connection with every Indian. It revolves around two related and warring families, the Pandavas and the Kauravas who fought the Kurukshetra war. The epic includes the sacred text of the Bhagavad Gita, delivered by Lord Krishna to the Pandava warrior prince Arjuna, at the battlefield just before the start of the war. Kapoor’s previous film, which was a sports drama  Kai Po Che, was also a Disney Hotstar India release, which was showcased at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival. Banker is a best-selling author known for his retellings of Indian epics, such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Managing Director, Walt Disney India, Siddharth Roy Kapur said, “We intend to tell the story in a manner it deserves to be told on screen, and are thrilled to have the incredibly talented Abhishek Kapoor at the helm, with one of the most knowledgeable and talented writers on the subject, Ashok Banker scripting it.” In the past, there have been various interpretations of the Mahabharata, most notably for television, and a recent animation feature. 

In 1985, acclaimed British theater and film director Peter Brook directed a nine-hour stage play on the epic. 

A film version of the ambitious production was also released in 1989 as a six-hour TV mini-series.

Last year, Indian animation company Graphic India and acclaimed comic book creator and Batman writer Grant Morrison launched an original animated YouTube web series, 18 Days, based on the Mahabharata. While a budget was not detailed, Disney India’s film will go into pre-production after the completion of Kapoor’s current venture with the studio, Fitoor which features top actress Katrina Kaif and actor Aditya Roy Kapur. Fitoor begins shooting in July.

Tags

• Mahabharat
• Disney
• Hotstar
• Entertainment
• Film

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