Vivek Agnihotri says he's destined to make Mahabharata: Rajamouli jab tak banayenge...

The Kashmir Files filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri recently expressed his desire to direct a film based on the Indian epic Mahabharata. In an interview with Republic Digital, Agnihotri said that someday he will make a film on the epic, adding he's "destined to". 

In June, Vivek in an interview with an online portal said while reacting to the controversy around Adipurush -- a film based on the ancient Indian epic Ramayana, that "it's a sin to try to shake people's faith and hurt their sentiments" and "one should be extremely sensitive and responsible while making a movie about people's faith." For the unversed, Adipurush, starring Prabhas and Kriti Sanon, had been embroiled in a controversy over its colloquial dialogues and insensitive depiction of Hindu Gods. 

Now, speaking with Republic Digital about how he as a filmmaker would approach a film based on Indian mythology, Agnihotri said, "I would personally not get into the area of mythology." He, however, was quick to add that he wants to make Mahabharata but will not treat it as mythology. 

3 things you need to know:

• A film on the Hindu epic Mahabharata is already in the works. 
• SS Rajamouli is expected to work Mahabharata soon after he completes shooting Mahesh Babu starrer SSMB29.
• In an earlier interview, SS Rajamouli had said he imagines the Mahabharata to be a '10-part movie'.

What will Agnihotri's approach be to making the Mahabharata?

"If I have to treat Mahabharat, which I will definitely, I'm destined to make it, I'll treat it like history. I'm not going to read Mahabharat like mythology because, in my mind, it's not mythology," Vivek shared. 

When we apprised him of SS Rajamouli's Mahabharata which is reportedly in the making, Agnihotri quipped, "Arre Rajamouli ji jab tak banayenge tab tak toh main retire bhi ho chuka hounga (I will retire by the time Rajamouli ji completes shooting Mahabharata)." 

Agnihotri says he won't approach Mahabharata as a larger-than-life film

The Junooniyat director said that most people want to make a larger-than-life film on the Mahabharata or Ramayana but, he does not wish to do so. Agnihotri told Republic Digital while stating that he "loves" SS Rajamouli's work, "I don't know if he's making it officially or not, I don't know if even I'm making it officially or not. Everybody talks about Mahabharata. But the thing is, the kind of Mahabharata everybody wants to make, or Ramayana everybody wants to make is, they want to spend a lot of money, I'm not looking at that."

Speaking about why he wants to make a film on the Mahabharata and the purpose behind it, Agnihotri shared, "The purpose is... this is the most beautiful epic tale of dharma versus adharma. At every turn of the page, there is a lesson to be learned between dharma and adharma. My film should convey that." 

The 49-year-old filmmaker, who has eight films to his credit, pointed out that his Mahabharata will not be about glorifying Arjun or Bheem. He said he wants the message of dharma and adharma to reach the masses and that he does not intend to "waste unnecessarily hundreds and hundreds of crores to do that spectacle."

"My film is not to glorify Arjun or Bheem and all those things. I know Bollywood's way of thinking, what they want to do I don't want to do that. I want to give out the message of dharma and adharma. Why should I spend, waste unnecessarily hundreds and hundreds of crores to do that spectacle? There are lots of people, you have Karan Johar to produce those kinds of films, why should I do that?" Vivek concluded. 

What do we know about SS Rajamouli's Mahabharata?

RRR writer and SS Rajamouli's father Vijayendra Prasad,  during an interview with the YouTube channel Film Tree, shared that SS Rajamouli wishes to start working on Mahabharata after his project with Mahesh Babu, tentatively titled SSMB29. 

Earlier this year, SS Rajamouli opened up about his long-held dream project while speaking with his brother-in-law Dr AV Guruva Reddy. The RRR director said, "At present, I can only assume that it would be a 10-part film." Rajamouli added that with every film that he makes he's "learning something to ultimately make Mahabharata." He further said, "That’s my dream and every step is towards that." 

During the promotions of RRR in 2021, Rajamouli shared in an interaction with Ram Charan that he will tell Mahabharata in his "own way".

Later, to a media outlet, Rajamouli said that the characters in his Mahabharata "will not be the same as you've seen or read before", while adding that "Mahabharata (story) will be the same, but the characters will be enhanced and the inter-relationships between the characters will be added."