Vivek Agnihotri announces trilogy 'Parva' based on Mahabharata
On Saturday, The Kashmir Files and The Vaccine War director Vivek Agnihotri announced his new project, Parva: An Epic Tale of Dharma. Based on the mythological Hindu epic Mahabharata, it will be an adaptation of the 1979 Kannada novel Parva, authored by Dr. SL Bhyrappa. The large-scale project has been planned as a trilogy and will be written by Agnihotri and Prakash Belawadi.
Work on Agnihotri's magnum opus has already begun
Announcing the film on social media, Agnihotri posted a video, voiced by himself, debating whether Mahabharata is mythology or history. Padma Bhushan awardee Bhyrappa's Parva, originally in Kannada, has reportedly been translated into 10 languages, including English, Russian, Chinese, Mandarin, and Sanskrit. It will form the basis of Agnihotri's film. In the video, Agnihotri also announced that the work on the project has commenced.
Check out the complete announcement here
'Parva' renowned for imaginative storytelling
Parva is considered to be Bhyrappa's best work. It heavily utilizes the literary technique of monologues to demonstrate and describe the lives of the principal characters of the epic from "the perspective of the 20th century [by placing them] in 12th century India," writes Goodreads in its description. Its English title is Parva: A Tale of War, Peace, Love, Death, God, and Man.
Agnihotri to make 'Parva' for audience, not box office
Interestingly, in August, the filmmaker spoke to Times Now about his ambitions to adapt Mahabharata. He said, "If I have to make it, I will make it like history. Others are making something for the box office, and I am going to make it for the people." "Secondly, they made it to glorify Arjun, Bheem, and others. For me, Mahabharata is dharma vs adharma."
Major past adaptations, SS Rajamouli's similar ambitions
Over the years, several films, animated projects, and TV shows have drawn inspiration from the classic, immortal story and have translated the world of Mahabharata onscreen. Some of the most notable works include BR Chopra's Mahabharat (1988-90) and Siddharth Kumar Tewary's Mahabharat (2013-14). SS Rajamouli has also called Mahabharata his dream project, stating if he ever works on it, it will spawn 10 parts.
