A lot of craze is generated out of southern blockbuster Baahubali 2 and now the audience worldwide crave to see more such epics from south India. Now it seems the southern film industry too is paying serious thought to this demand. Now superstar Akkineni Nagarjuna confirmed that he has been approached to play the role of Karna in the upcoming Mahabharata film, which will feature Malayalam star Mohanlal as Bheem. The film, which will be made on a budget of Rs. 1,000 crore is an adaptation of MT Vasudevan Nair’s classic Randaamoozham, which is retelling of Mahabharata from the perspective of the second Pandava brother Bheem.
“Director Sukumaran had initiated the talks with me some time ago for Karna’s role. But, nothing is finalised yet and I’m not too sure how long does it take for things to shape up,” Nagarjuna, who was last seen in Om Namo Venkatesaya, recently told a news portal.
If all goes well then it will be the first time that Nagarjuna and Mohanlal will co-star in a film. In 2001, Nagarjuna starred in Telugu film Adhipathi, which was a remake of Mohanlal’s Malayalam film Narasimham. In April, the filmmakers announced the casting of Mohanlal as Bheem in Randaamoozham adaptation, which is touted to be the most expensive Indian film. The new screen adaptation of Mahabharata is financially backed by a UAE-based Indian businessman. Confirming his participation, Mohanlal had then said on Facebook: “If this story needs to be told to the world then it need be told in the best way and beautifully. And for this you need a world-class budget. It is a privilege that I am playing the role of Bheem. I want to thank them for his faith in me.”
Randaamoozham adaptation will reportedly be made in two parts and the first part is expected to go on floors by September 2018. The makers aim to release the film in early 2020, reported a news agency. It will be shot in six languages (English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu) and dubbed into other Indian and foreign languages.
