R S Vimal's Karnan is back on track, but with Vikram in the lead. Titled Mahavir Karna, the Rs 300-crore project will be bankrolled by the New York-based United Film Kingdom.
According to Vimal, Mahavir Karna will be made in Hindi and Tamil and dubbed in 32 languages, including Malayalam.
"The project is very much on. I have been working on the script, which I have already
rewritten eight times in the past two years. At the moment, I am working on the ninth draft. That's what I did for Ennu Ninte Moitheen too," he says.
Though Mahavir Karna has grown bigger in canvas, the actor says the script and budget are likely to remain the same. "When we initially announced the project, we estimated a budget of Rs 300 crores. It will remain that," he adds.The director says the team hoped to recreate the business Bollywood film Dangal did. "We expect Mahavir Karna to do a business of Rs 2,000 crores worldwide," he says.
Though the movie has grown in scale, Vimal says he is confident on pulling it off. "I have always worked hard for my ambitions. It was same with Ennu Ninte Moitheen. So, I am confident about the project," he says.The shoot will begin this October and is expected to hit the screens in December, 2019. The locations will be at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, Jaipur and Niagara Falls, Canada. The movie will feature top technicians of India as well as Hollywood. According to Vimal, a prominent actor from Hollywood will also be part of the film.
It was almost two years ago that Vimal had announced a movie on Karnan, a character in Mahabharata. And it was Prithviraj who was initially associated with the project.
On asked why Prithviraj has been replaced, Vimal says that the actor is busy with his directorial debut Lucifer. "He has a very busy year ahead," he adds.