SS Rajamouli says if makes Mahabharat it’ll be a 10-part film: ‘Would take me a year just to read different versions’

SS Rajamouli has called his dream project Mahabharat the aim of his life, and said he would make it into 10 parts, if he ever adapted the epic into a film. SS Rajamouli at an event in Los Angeles in January 14, 2023. (AFP)

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli has been nurturing his dream of making a film on Indian epic Mahabharat for a long time. Having called it his dream project several times over the last few years, he has now revealed that if he gets to make Mahabharat, he would want to make it into 10 parts to fully do justice to it.

During the promotions of his last film RRR, Rajamouli had said that he will give a spin on the original Mahabharata in his own way and will only come to the casting part after he finishes writing the script.

At a recent event, Rajamouli opened up once again on his dream of making Mahabharat. He said it would take him at least a year to read every version of Mahabharat currently available in the country.

When asked if Mahabharat is really anytime soon in his scheme of things, Rajamouli said that’s the aim of his life. “Every film I make, I feel that I’m learning something to ultimately make Mahabharat. So that’s my dream and every step is towards that,” he said.

During the promotions of RRR, Ram Charan had asked Rajamouli about his dream project, Mahabharat. He also wanted to know if he will cast his RRR heroes once again. “The characters that I write for my Mahabharata will not be the same as you’ve seen or read before. I will tell Mahabharata in my own way. Mahabharata (story) will be the same, but the characters will be enhanced and the inter-relationships between the characters will be added,” Rajamouli said.

When asked about his long-time dream of adapting Mahabharat, which was a 266-episode show on television, into a film, Rajamouli said, “If I get to the point of making Mahabharat, it would take me a year just to read the versions of Mahabharat that are available in the country. At present, I can only assume that it would be a 10-part film.”

Answering the part about whether he will cast Ram Charan and Jr NTR, he said: “I know people have made lists of who should play who in the project. But I will decide my characters only after I write my version of Mahabharata.”