The leader of a right-wing outfit has threatened to stall the release of Mohanlal’s much-awaited big-budget film, based on MT Vasudevan Nair’s acclaimed novel Randamoozham, if it is titled The Mahabharata.
Mohanlal had recently .
/” target=”_blank”>confirmed the film through a video on his Facebook page and revealed that the project, titled The Mahabharata, would be made of a record budget of Rs 1000 crore, with many touting it as India’s biggest ever motion picture.
However, it seems the project now faces the ire of the Hindu Aikya Vedi as the outfit’s president KP Sasikala has warned the makers to drop the name. Known for her radical views, the Hindutva leader said the film will not be allowed to play in theatres, if it is made on the theme of Vasudevan Nair’s novel and under the title The Mahabharata.
“Let me put it in a very simple way. If the film is titled The Mahabharata, it will not reach the theatres,” Sasikala said at a function in Kochi on Monday. “If the film is based on the novel Randamoozham, its name should also be Randamoozham. But if it is named The Mahabharata, it should be based on The Mahabharata penned by Veda Vyasa.”
Randamoozham narrates the epic through the eyes of Bhima, the second of the Pandavas. The film is set to be directed by noted ad filmmaker VA Shrikumar Menon and produced by UAE-based businessman BR Shetty. The film will reportedly be made in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu and will be dubbed into several other Indian and foreign languages.