Variety is usually reliable. Now, is arr involved in this ? cheers Krish
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117932402?categoryid=13&cs=1 India's Kaleidescope plans Hindu conquest Three feature films, over 100 hours of TV p'gramming to tell 'Mahabharata' tale By PATRICK FRATER India producer Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope Films will produce an adaptation of Hindu epic tale "The Mahabharata." Story of the Bharata dynasty and set in 3,000 B.C., text is the second-longest poem in history and is sacred to Hindus. Bedi plans to film it as three feature movies and over 100 hours of TV programming that will be delivered by the end of 2007. It will also lend itself to video and mobile games content. Budget is pegged at $30 million-$35 million, with a third expected to be raised from Indian sources. Bedi, who last produced "The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey," is seeking the backing of those Hollywood studios that have existing broadcast interests as well as film ambitions in India. Production will be on a mammoth scale and require some deft political negotiations. As an incentive to attract regional backing, Bedi expects to build a massive permanent stage that will be donated to whichever local state becomes home to the production. While Kaleidoscope is understood to be amassing a cast of Indian superstars -- according to local Indian reports, that includes thesps Khan, Rani Mukerji and Shah Rukh Khan and helmer Mani Ratnam -- Bedi is focusing on production design features. "First level is the use of Indian designers and facilitators," Bedi said. "We have a huge advantage as nobody really knows what these people looked like, so we can invent a lot to suit our own needs. Weaponry is currently being developed by a world top-five games company with a view to creating a digital asset that we can use in other media." Bedi says that project will have a film-sequel-prequel chronology similar to "The Godfather," with further backstory and flashbacks destined for TV. "If we do this well enough, every family in India will own a DVD," says Bedi. Many Indian families already own the DVD set from a long-running TV series. With a budget that is unprecedented in India, production is expected to use sophisticated financial techniques including bank loans and completion bonding. Bedi owns a quarter of Film Completion Services, India's first bonding company, a joint venture with Los Angeles-based Film Finances. Film adaptations of the classic tale have been made on at least five previous occasions, with the earliest in 1920, but few have attempted to cover as much ground as the Bedi effort. There was also the 1988- 1990 TV series by B.R. Chopra and Ravi Chopra. Helmer Rituparno Ghosh, whose recent film "Antar mahal" screened at the Locarno fest, is understood to be basing his new film "Draupadi," on only a single "Mahabharata" episode. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/iyUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Explore, Experience, Enjoy A.R.Rahman - The Man, The Music, The Magic. Only at arrahmanfans.com - The definitive A.R.Rahman e-community. Homepage: http://www.arrahmanfans.com Admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arrahmanfans/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
