Touted to be India’s costliest film with a whopping budget of Rs1,000 crores, Shetty told Gulf News that he will begin production in March and that there wouldn’t be any change in that.
“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,” said Shetty in the interview.
■ Also Read: M.T. Vasudevan Nair demands 'Randamoozham' screenplay back
The recent fall-out between celebrated author MT Vasudevan Nair and director VA Shri Kumar Menon of Mahabharata arose when the novelist was fed up with the inordinate delay in kickstarting the project.
According to news reports, Nair handed over the screenplay of his novel to producer BR Shetty three years ago, but was frustrated with the lack of progress on the movie based on Randamoozham, the Malayalam novel penned by MT Vasudevan Nair in 1984. Mohanlal was slated to play Bheema, a principal character in the fantasy adventure.
When Gulf News asked Shetty about the delay, he maintained that he wasn’t aware of the novelist’s misgivings until reporters from the media sought answers from him.
“I have no idea what is going down there …. All I know is that I will be producing Mahabharata … whether it is MT Vasudevan Nair’s version or not … I am not a film producer and I am doing this for my own personal satisfaction,” said Shetty.
In April 2017, this film was launched amidst much fanfare in Abu Dhabi with Shetty unveiling plans to rope in big Indian and International talents for his pet project.
