10 things to know about ‘Brahmastra’, the epic Bollywood adventure starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt

It has been a long time in the making: Producer Karan Johar picked a pretty special day to announce the ambitious, mega-project ‘Brahmastra’. It was on the 75th birthday of superstar Amitabh Bachchan on October 11, 2017, that the news broke about the movie. In an interview with IANS, director Mukerji (centre) said there were high expectations for the movie. “It’s the biggest project of my life,” the filmmaker said in 2017. “All my hopes are pinned on this film. I hope it becomes the biggest success... I am very excited about the cast but I hope the film gets even bigger than the cast.”

Film’s title was rumoured to be Dragon: According to multiple reports, the working title for ‘Brahmastra’ was ‘Dragon’ but it was changed because the former title was more appropriate. “I don’t know how this news got out, maybe I had mentioned it once on social media,” Mukerji was quoted as saying by PTI in 2021. “Actually, when Dragon was the title of the film, that time, we had not thought about it. Shiva, in the film, has the power of fire so I wrote the name Dragon on the script. But the film was always rooted and inspired by Indian culture and history. So when the time came to give the title, ‘Brahmastra’ was always the right title for the film.”

‘Brahmastra’ inspired by Indian mythology... and Marvel?: Part of why the movie is one of the most pioneering in India is because it attempts to create a new cinematic universe — the Astraverse — much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe from Hollywood. ‘Brahmastra’ is set in modern-day India, and revolves around a secret society of sages called the Brahmansh. They have guarded the ‘Astras’, which are powerful weapons created in ancient India, for generations. Of the ‘Astras’, the most powerful one is the ‘Brahmastra’, which is waking up and threatens to destroy the universe, the official logline reads. Kapoor told Variety: “We had the opportunity to create our own Marvel, which Ayan is trying to do with his Astraverse. Any film, any good compelling story, made in your culture, in an authentic way, in a true form, will connect to a large audience.”

It is part of a trilogy: The first part in the trilogy is all about Kapoor’s character Shiva, who finds out that he wields the power of fire and has a mysterious connection with the ‘Brahmastra’. All the while, Shiva’s love story with Isha (Bhatt) plays out.

Kapoor and Bhatt’s first movie together: The two actors each have a rich and varied filmography, with Kapoor starting his career in 2007’s ‘Saawariya’ and Bhatt kicking off hers with Johar’s ‘Student of the Year’ in 2012. They’ve made many headlines over the years for their long romantic relationship, but this will be the first time they’ll be seen on the big screen together. Kapoor and Bhatt got married in a private ceremony in April this year and are expecting their first child together.

One of most expensive films made in Bollywood: The trailer for the movie features larger-than-life VFX and elements that show how large of a scale it has been made on. Reports suggest that it had a budget of more than Rs400 crore (Rs4 billion/Dh184 million). A source told Bollywood Hungama: “It’s the costliest Bollywood film to date and the expenditure will be visible on each and every frame of the film.”

South Indian star Nagarjuna’s Bollywood return: Telugu superstar Nagarjuna, known for movies such as ‘Ninne Pelladata’, ‘Geetanjali’ and ‘Soggade Chinni Nayana’, makes his Bollywood comeback with ‘Brahmastra’. His last major Hindi role was in 1998’s ‘Zakhm’, directed by Alia Bhatt’s father Mahesh Bhatt. “‘Zakhm’ was my last full-fledged role in a Hindi film. I still remember Alia Bhatt as a child on Bhatt saab’s set. Now I am working with her in ‘Brahmastra’. How time flies,” he told IANS in 2018.

Shah Rukh Khan’s cameo: In June, many fans claimed to have seen Shah Rukh Khan in the trailer for ‘Brahmastra’. In the clip, a figure is seen floating off the ground with a supernatural creature hovering behind him. It was earlier confirmed that Khan would have an extended cameo in the movie — so we’ll just have to wait and see if that’s actually him.

Filmed in multiple locations: The movie’s principal photography kicked off in February 2018, with the first schedule taking place in Bulgaria. It was also filmed in London, New York, Edinburgh and Varanasi. Like many other films, ‘Brahmastra’ too faced the wrath of the global COVID-19 pandemic and shooting was delayed multiple times. Kapoor also attributed the extended timeline to how complex a movie it was to make. He said in an interview: “Where ‘Brahmastra’s’ delays are concerned, I think when we started the film, we were not prepared for the animal that it was. It had too many special effects, and where the story was, we didn’t expect that. So we were learning as we were making it.”

Film score by composer who worked on ‘Avatar’: Grammy-winning English composer Simon Franglen is the man behind the film’s score. Franglen is know for working on the score of James Cameron’s epic 2009 adventure flick ‘Avatar’, and will score its sequels too. His other credits include ‘Titanic’ and James Bond films ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Spectre’.