Baahubali 2 director SS Rajamouli to start working on a Mahabharata trilogy in 2018

Telugu filmmaker SS Rajamouli is planning to make yet another epic after the release of Baahubali: The Conclusion, the sequel to his immensely successful Baahubali: The Beginning. After the two-part epic that took three-and-a-half years to make, Rajamouli will invest the next four to five years in directing an epic trilogy based on the Mahabharata.

The director expressed his desire to do so at the India Today South Conclave . Now, Mumbai Mirror reports that the filmmaker will start finish scripting the trilogy next year after which the film will go on floors. Just like the Baahubali franchise, this trilogy will also be high on virtual reality and adorned with modern graphics.

The same report suggests that the trilogy will be made with a budget of a whooping Rs 400 crore. It will be shot in three languages — Telugu, Tamil and Hindi — simultaneously. The makers will rope in stars not only from South cinema but also from the Hindi film industry to aid their pan-India release.

Interestingly, Catch News reports that two Hindi superstars — Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan — have expressed their keenness on being cast in the cinematic version of the Mahabharata. While Aamir stated that he wishes to play Krishna, Shah Rukh also put on record his wish to play Karna. Since Rajamouli is planning to up the ante in his dream project of the Mahabharata trilogy, casting these two huge stars will not be a bad idea. In case that materialises, it would be the two Khans’ first collaboration on the silver screen.

Meanwhile, Rajamouli has wrapped up the shooting of his next, Baahubali: The Conlusion which is scheduled to hit theatres on 28 April. Its trailer will be launched around 23 and 24 January and will be attached to Rahul Dholakia’s crime drama Raees , starring Shah Rukh, which is slated to release on 25 January.