Madhu Mantena, Allu Aravind, and Namit Malhotra revealed in 2017 that they are adapting the epic Ramayana into a live-action 3D trilogy. A few years later, it was revealed that Nitesh Tiwari of Dangal fame, together with Mom director Ravi Udyawar, will be directing this enormous film, with Sridhar Raghavan penning the screenplay.
While speaking about the project to Pinkvilla, Madhu said, “The ambition that we have for Ramayana is larger than what our country has seen. The responsibility to tell this story is so larger that it requires a lot of work. We have taken it on ourselves to make it as well as anything else in the world. We are trying to follow the process that James Cameron did for Avatar. The ambition is so larger that we are going into the minute details of everything. We need to show the world what Ramayana is and it needs to portray all the magic that Valmiki wrote. This isn’t a project, it’s a purpose, a purpose to tell Ramayana in all it’s glory to the world.”
Over 200 artists from across the world have been working on various aspects of the film for the past two years, according to the producer. Some Oscar-winning artists are also on the pre-production crew. Over the last year, there have been rumours that the creators had signed Mahesh Babu, Hrithik Roshan, and Deepika Padukone to play Lord Ram, Ravana, and Sita, respectively.
(Also read: Fighter: Hrithik Roshan & Deepika Padukone starrer to release in 4 languages, budget to be 250 cr – more details inside!)
Although, Madhu did not confirmed this news but he didn’t even deny it. He said, “Please expect the biggest cast ever in the history of Indian cinema. You can expect an announcement of the star-cast around Diwali this year. The characters of Ravana, Ram, Sita, Laxman are larger than life. You will see actors who are the best in class in terms of performances, coming on board the film. When I say the biggest cast ever, I mean it. It’s going to be really exciting,” he promises.
“We will be getting the best artists from across the country. It’s not about North and South, it’s about unifying the country. We are doing this as India,” Madhu added. Talking about the budget of the film, he says, “We don’t know the budget yet, but it’s going to be bigger than anything that India has seen till date. We are making Ramayana for posterity. It’s not a story, which will come and go, but something that will live on forever.”
