Maha race for Mahabharata

Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani, Ravi Udyawar and Madhu Mantena

The genre of mythology seems to have caught the attention of many Bollywood filmmakers. While director Om Raut is offering a retelling of the Ramayana with Adipurush, and Nitesh Tiwari is putting together a magnum opus on the epic reportedly with Ranbir Kapoor, producer Madhu Mantena will soon adapt the Mahabharata with Deepika Padukone. Now, another filmmaker is joining the Mahabharata race. One hears that director Ravi Udyawar, who helmed the Sridevi-led revenge thriller Mom (2017), is developing a project based on the epic, with Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's banner Excel Entertainment backing it.

A source tells us that Udyawar has envisioned it as a modern-day retelling. "There are definite overlaps between the two projects, given that they have a common source material. But Ravi is giving a modern touch to his story. He is yet to determine whether he wants to make it as a web series or a feature film. Right now, the project is in the early stages of development, and will take another six months to move into pre-production," reveals the source. The offering is among the banner's most lavishly mounted projects.

mid-day reached out to Udyawar, who remained unavailable for comment.

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