Shahid Kapoor out of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's mythological drama 'Karna'?
'Tis the season of mythological dramas in Bollywood! Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's ambitious, large-scale mythological drama film Karna is probably finally coming out of a long slumber, albeit with monumental changes. The film, which was originally supposed to be fronted by Shahid Kapoor, will now be headlined by another A-lister, who is yet to be finalized. Ronnie Screwvala, the producer, has reportedly also backed out.
Why does this story matter?
Mounted on a massive scale, mythological/adventure dramas demand an incredible amount of budget, perseverance, and most importantly, time. Hence, there have been numerous instances when projects like Karna were announced and then put on the back burner. However, if things fall into place and Karna—based on the famous grey character from Mahabharata—finally materializes, it can potentially be a landmark film in Hindi cinema.
Excel Entertainment will now back the ambitious movie
Per Peeping Moon, though both Kapoor and Screwvala have decided to step back, it hasn't marred Mehra's conviction. Reportedly, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment has now come on board as the producer. It has also been decided that the movie will be developed in two installments. Mehra is penning the script with noted mythological fiction author Anand Neelakantan (The Rise of Sivagami).
Success of 'Baahuabli' franchise, 'KGF,' encouraged Mehra
The source told the portal, "While [Mehra] had earlier planned this project as a two-and-a-half-hour epic feature, the subject and characters are so vast and complicated that he believes one film cannot justify Karna's story." Moreover, the phenomenal success of Baahubali, KGF, and Pushpa has "further boosted the maker's confidence to experiment with a multi-part format, and they are now developing the script accordingly."
Makers still trying to finalize the lead actor
The hunt for the eponymous hero is still on and while "the [makers] have pitched [it] to two-three Bollywood stars, no one has come on board yet." "It's an expensive and risky project, and might seem financially unfeasible at this moment given that Hindi films have not been performing well at the box office." Notably, Vicky Kaushal's name had earlier popped for the role.
