“I have not started thinking about the cast yet,” said director Nitesh Tiwari
Hrithik Roshan’s name was put forward by social media almost the very instant the three-part Ramayana was announced in July – as was that of Prabhas. This week, the Internet seemed convinced that Hrithik had been or was on the verge of being cast in the title role with Deepika Padukone as his Sita – the actors have never been in a film together.
The ambitious Ramayana project already has several big names attached to produce – ex-Phantom Films founder Madhu Mantena, Telugu super-producer Allu Aravind and Prime Focus studios founder Namit Malhotra. The budget is a whopping Rs. 500 crore and the three-part film will be shot in 3D and in multiple languages – Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. Currently in development and pre-production, the project aims to begin filming next year.
Prasanta Patnaik