B.R. Shetty’s lost epic: Billionaire who dreamed of making India's costliest film with Mohanlal before his fall

Dubai: Long before his billion-dirham business empire came crashing down, UAE-based tycoon B.R. Shetty had cinematic ambitions as grand as his corporate ones.

The man who built hospitals, exchange houses, and global ventures once set his sights on producing India’s most expensive film ever — a Rs 10 billion adaptation of The Mahabharata starring Mohanlal as Bheema.

Even as legendary author M.T. Vasudevan Nair distanced himself from the project and demanded his script back, Shetty was unwavering.

“I am going to invest my own money and dedicate all my strength to make the best film that will make our Indian community proud,” he told Gulf News at the time in 2017.

I still remember being at the grand launch in Abu Dhabi -- one of the most glittering press events that year. Cameras flashed, media from India were flown down, and Shetty spoke with the confidence of a man used to turning dreams into empires.

“I’m not a film producer,” he had said then, smiling. “I’m doing this for my personal satisfaction.”

But that cinematic dream, like his sprawling business empire, never quite made it past the opening credits.

For decades, Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty was a towering figure in the UAE — a symbol of ambition, opportunity, and success. From arriving in Abu Dhabi in 1973 with just Dh7 in his pocket, he built a healthcare and financial empire through NMC Health, UAE Exchange, and Neopharma. His story was once held up as proof that the UAE was the land where dreams came true.

Then came the fall. In 2020, NMC Health’s collapse revealed more than $4 billion in hidden debt, triggering one of the most stunning corporate scandals in the region. Shetty, who claimed he was “betrayed by those I trusted,” found himself mired in legal battles across India and the UAE.

This week, his troubles deepened: Dubai’s DIFC Court ordered him to pay $46 million to an Indian bank, the latest in a long string of rulings tied to the implosion of his business empire.

The man who once dreamed of bringing The Mahabharata to life now finds himself at the centre of a real-life epic — one of ambition, betrayal, and hubris. Only this time, there’s no myth to save the hero.