Producer Madhu Mantena is working on an ambitious, three-part retelling of “Ramayan” from Valmiki’s point of view and is confident that the story will have a global appeal with its never-before-seen visuals.
The live-action trilingual film series in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, will be directed by “Dangal” fame Nitesh Tiwari and “Mom” director Ravi Udayavar. The screenplay is written by Sridhar Raghavan.
Mantena, who has backed films like “Ghajini”, “Lootera”, “Queen” and “Udta Punjab” in the past, joined hands with producers Allu Aravind and Namit Malhotra to bring the adaptation on the big screen. is.
“We are trying to convey ‘Ramayana’ to the future generations. It is a matter of good fortune that we all have got an opportunity to narrate Ramayana in all its glory in today’s time. This is the opportune time to tell this story.
“I keep citing the example of Mangalyaan and how India built a world class satellite. This is our Mangalyaan, we are building it for the world, (but) it is from India.
1987 has already seen an adaptation by Ramanand Sagar in “Ramayana”, which is today considered a cult classic in television. Arun Govil and Dipika Chikhlia played the roles of Ram and Sita in the story.
Another TV adaptation in 2008, starring the real-life duo Gurmeet Choudhary and Debina Banerjee, was also a hit.
Mantena, 46, said that his team is narrating the epic from Valmiki’s point of view and it will be a never-before-seen world they are creating.
“We are narrating Valmiki’s Ramayana and the epithets that are there. This is a simple story that we all know.
The “visual interpretation of the epic, I don’t think” has been thoroughly exploited. I don’t think we’ve seen it in all its glory. Through Nitesh and Ravi’s imagination, we intend to show a world that has never been seen before,” he said.
The producers hoped that the trilogy will, hopefully, reach younger audiences, who will eventually know “what great stories we have, but never had the opportunity to explore in all their glory.”
When asked how careful the producers are that films that have anything to do with religion are in trouble, Mantena said that they are not trying to reinterpret the epic.
The family of “Nitesh” will narrate the Ramayana for generations. This is not a team trying to reinterpret anything. We are telling a traditional “Ramayana” (story). So be careful when it comes to questioning…”
Mantena, who started working on the project four years ago, said he is aware of the important task of bringing the story to celluloid.
It is a linear story and has more magic than most of our stories like it has Rakshasas, Rakshasas, Asuras, Garudas etc. It is such a deep and beautiful world that it needs a lot of work. This is not something you can do overnight.
“It’s a huge responsibility. You need to do a lot of research, both in the material and the visuals,” he said, adding that more than 200 artists have been working round the clock for almost two years.
“We are creating digital assets. It is painstaking and requires a lot of patience from you. I am fortunate that Nitesh and Ravi have taken up this objective and are taking the time to be given a retelling of this magnitude and size. Beauty is in the detail.”
The film, said to be made on a budget of Rs 600 crore, which Mantena said two years ago, seemed fine but seems inadequate today.
The film is in advanced pre-production stage and the makers are looking for actors across India.
Speculations are 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 whether everyone has been approached, but said that since it is a pan-India film, the makers will reach out to whoever suits them for the role.
“We are in talks with the actors and we are hoping that we will get all the actors we want. It is still a long process. We will announce the casting at the end of the year.”
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