Hyderabad: Producer Madhu Mantena is working on an ambitious, three-part retelling of Ramayana from Valmiki's standpoint and he is confident that the story will have a global appeal with its never-before-seen visuals. The film is touted to be made at a budget of Rs 600 crore, which Mantena said, two years ago, seemed ok but today feels insufficient. The film is in the advanced pre-production stage and the makers are scouting for actors across India.
Speculation is rife about Mahesh Babu, Hrithik Roshan being approached for the film, along with Deepika Padukone and Kareena Kapoor Khan. Mantena did not reveal details about who all have been approached but said since it is a pan-India film, the makers will reach out to whoever suits the role better. "We are in conversation with actors and we are hoping we will get all the actors we want. It is still a long process. We will announce the casting around the end of the year," Mantena told in a zoom interview.
Pictured left to right: Ravi Udyawar, Namit Malhotra, Allu Arvind, Madhu Mantena and Nitesh Tiwari READ |Mahesh Babu to play Ram opposite Deepika in 3D Ramayana?
The live-action trilingual film series in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, will be directed by Dangal fame Nitesh Tiwari and Mom director Ravi Udyavar. The screenplay is written by Sridhar Raghavan. Mantena, who backed films such as Ghajini, Lootera, Queen and Udta Punjab in the past, has joined hands with producers Allu Aravind and Namit Malhotra to bring the adaptation to the big screen.
"We are trying to tell Ramayana for posterity. It is fortunate that all of us have the opportunity to tell Ramayana in its glory in today's time. This is an appropriate time to tell this story. I keep citing the example of Mangalyaan and how India built a world-class satellite at a fraction of cost. This is our Mangalyaan, we are making this for the world, (but) it is from India," Mantena said.
Pictured left to right: Ravi Udyawar, Namit Malhotra, Allu Arvind, Madhu Mantena and Nitesh Tiwari Mantena, 46, said his team is narrating the epic from Valmiki's standpoint and it will be a never-before-seen world that they are creating. The producer hopes that the trilogy will, hopefully, reach the young audiences who will finally get to know "what great stories we have had but never had the opportunity to explore them in all their glory."
READ |Hrithik Roshan to play Ravan in 3D Ramayana starring Deepika Padukone?
Asked about how cautious the producers are given that films that have anything to do with religion land in trouble, Mantena said they are not trying to reinterpret the epic. Mantena, who began working on the project four years ago, said he is aware of the monumental task of bringing the story on celluloid. "It is a linear story and it has more magic than most of our stories like it has demons, Rakshasas, Asuras, Garuda, etc. This is such an intense and beautiful world that it needs a lot of work. It is not something that you can do overnight. It is a huge responsibility. You need to do a lot of research both in content and visuals," he said, adding that more than 200 artists have been working around the clock for almost two years.
