India is set to make the longest poem ever written into its most expensive film ever with a staggering budget of $155 million.
The film “Randamoozham” will be financed by B.R. Shetty, an entrepreneur based in the United Arab Emirates.
Shetty in a statement says:
“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.”
Production is expected to begin in September 2018 and it’ll be shot in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, the two-part film will be released in 2020.
At 1.8 million words and nearly 10 times the length of the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” combined, the “Mahabharata” is the longest poem ever written.
The text is believed to date back to between the 8th and 9th centuries BC and is traditionally understood to be written by Vyasa, a Hindu sage.
According to CNN, it tells the story of two sets of paternal cousins, the Pandava princes, whose father is the deceased King Pandu, and the Kauravas, sons of the blind King Dhritarashtra. The Pandavas and the Kauravas become rivals as they battle for the ancestral kingdom of Bharata.
Along with being an epic war narrative, the “Mahabharata” also contains philosophical and spiritual lessons.
“Randamoozham” will tell its story through the eyes of the second Pandava prince Bhima, tipped to be played by Keralan actor and producer Mohanlal.