Some epic experiences are never meant to be on the large screen. Jhansi Ki Rani has never yet made it to the large screen. And while the Ramayana has been rendered innumerable times on the large screen the Mahabharat has never been a popular reference-point for the movie experience.
This is why we were thrilled to the core when we heard of Aamir Khan’s plans to set aside five years of his life and career to make the Mahabharat in several parts for the big screen. Soon one heard that the plans of doing the mythological epic on the large screen with A-list stars was dropped and Aamir had decided to make the Mahabharat as a web series.
But now even that’s been relegated to a no-no status, if reliable sources are to be believed. Says a source in the know, “After weighing all pros and cons Aamir Khan has decided not to make the Mahabharat. For one it would willy-nilly become controversial. More importantly the scale on which he planned the project was commercially not viable. Also, setting aside five years of his precious time for the Mahabharat meant losing out on doing at least three feature films. So no. No Mahabharat.”
May I remind Aamir of the golden words in the Bhagavat Gita: Karmanye vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana,Ma Karmaphalaheturbhurma Te Sangostvakarmani. Do not bother with the results. Just do your karma.
S S Rajamouli can breathe easy. When I last spoke to him he seemed a little concerned about Aamir Khan beating him to directing a screen version of the Mahabharat.
After almost two years of rigorous research on the subject and a determination to do justice to the epic saga, Aamir has decided to shelve his plans for making Mahabharat, at least for now, “Aamir can’t afford to devote two years of his life to make a web series (Mahabharat was planned as a web series). He needs to quickly announce his presence in a big star-studded feature film directed by a reliable director,” says the source, adding that the decision to set aside Mahabharat was not only commerce-based.
“There were bound to be unsavoury controversies surrounding the project. The radical groups would have challenged Aamir’s right to film the inviolable epic. Aamir feels now is not the right time to make the Mahabharat,” says the source.
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