"Mahabharata" has the potential to set the tone for Indian content globally, believes Disney+ Hotstar's Gaurav Banerjee, who promises the new series to be a "richly detailed" take on the epic.
The "ambitious" project was announced by Banerjee, Head - Content, Disney+ Hotstar & HSM Entertainment Network, Disney Star, earlier this month at the D23 expo in Anaheim, California.
Based on the epic Mahabharat, the series will focus on the conflict between 'dharma and adharma'.
"We are very serious about wanting to take stories from one part of the world and getting it to work across the world... We want to be more ambitious and get around to a mainstream global audience as well. Hopefully, shows like 'Mahabharata' could be setting the tone for that," Banerjee told PTI.
The series, produced by filmmaker Madhu Mantena, Mythoverse Studios and Allu Entertainment, follows BR Chopra's classic 1988 TV show "Mahabharat" and Star Plus' decade-old adaption.
Banerjee, who closely worked on the 2013 Star Plus show as well, said coming up with "Mahabharata" on OTT has given them the opportunity to dream big.
"We worked hard for several months before announcing 'Mahabharata' officially. We had to figure out what we want to do with the 'Mahabharat' that has not been done before."
The upcoming show, he believes, will stand out on two levels-- season wise approach and advancement of technology.
"When I did 'Mahabharat' on Star Plus, we were conceptualising a series which had 200 plus episodes. It creates a couple of problems on the production and writing side... But at Disney+ Hotstar we are doing it with a few episodes and season wise approach. That actually allows the production to be large scale. We can be ambitious in our writing and imagination."
In the past one decade, Banerjee said, technology has evolved immensely and the team is aiming to put it to good use.
"Production technology and production design has taken a big leap all over the world and in our country. And in 'Mahabharata' there are so many action and battle sequences, which are perfect to be richly detailed in that way. We are very serious about wanting to do it brilliantly," he added.
Disney+ Hotstar is yet to lock the director and cast for the show. The streaming platform has chosen a slow and steady approach towards the project.
"We want to get it right more than get it early. We are going to invest our time and our resources judicially to make something high quality," Banerjee said.
