BR Shetty awestruck by the screenplay of MT for "Mahabharata" film

London: UAE-based NRI businessman BR Shetty, who is investing Rs 1000 crores (USD 150 million) to make "Mahabharata" film, said he was awestruck by the fantastic screenplay by MT Vasudevan Nair.

Shetty, Founder and Chairman of UAE Exchange and NMC Healthcare added, "I am confident that this film will be adapted in over 100 languages and reach over three billion people across the world.

"I have tremendous faith in the ability of V.A. Shrikumar to paint this narrative on celluloid. His passion and energy are boundless,” he said.

Noted advertising filmmaker V A Shrikumar Menon, who is set to helm the magnum opus, thanked Shetty for having faith in the project.

"I would like to sincerely thank Dr Shetty for having immense faith in this project and help bring it to life with his financial commitment and his innate pride on Indian heritage. We are fully geared to attain the next level of production quality and visual magic, as well as narrative wizardry with this initiative," Menon said in a statement.

"Mahabharata" will be produced in two parts and is scheduled to go on floor by September 2018 and will be released in early 2020.

The second part of the film will be released within 90 days of the first part. The film will be shot primarily in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu and will be dubbed into major Indian languages and leading foreign languages.

The film will be based on M T Vasudevan Nair's award- winning novel, Randamoozham (The Second Turn). The novel narrates Mahabharata through the eyes of Bhima, the second of the Pandavas. The screenplay is being written by the writer himself.

The film will reportedly have Mohanlal play the role of Bhima.