Kozhikode court restrains Mahabharata director from using script of MT Vasudevan Nair's Randamoozham

Mahabharata, the multilingual film which was supposed to be based on novelist MT Vasudevan Nair's book Randamoozham, has faced considerable problems ever since the film was announced. Recently, a Kozhikode court restrained the film's director VA Shrikumar Menon from taking references from Randamoozham or using the initial script, reports Mumbai Mirror.

Mohanlal. Image from Twitter

The decision came after Menon had approached the court to get his screenplay back after Nair had filed a case against the usage of his book for Mahabharata.

Dubai-based billionaire businessman BR Shetty has been quite keen on making the film despite the issues. Mahabharata was being touted as the biggest film ever produced by India in terms of its budget. Shetty had reportedly agreed to invest Rs 1,000 crore into the project.

Randamoozham essentially deals with Bheema's perspective of the epic battle fought in Kurukshetra between the Kauravas and Pandavas. The report also adds that Shetty had hinted at going forward with the project despite MT's negation and insistence on not returning the script.

Nair, who was initially part of the project, later backed out due to what he alleges was a complete lack of interest on the makers' part to show any interest or sincerity to the film.

The film was to be completed within three years of Nair's signing the contract. Though Menon reportedly met Nair and apologised to him for the delay, there were no reconciliations which were reached at. Mahabharata was scheduled to release in two parts and was scheduled to go on floors by September 2018, and release in early 2020. Actor Mohanlal was roped in for Bheema's role in Mahabharata. Shiva Rajkumar, Vikram, Prabhu Aishwarya Rai, Nagarjuna and Manju Warrier were also signed to feature in the film.