Aiming for Rs.2000 crore business, says Mahavir Karna director

RS Vimal's Karnan is back on track, but with Vikram in the lead. Titled Mahavir Karna, the Rs 300-crore project will be produced by the New York-based United Film Kingdom. According to Vimal, the film 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," the director says.

The film on Karnan, the character from Mahabharata, was announced almost two years ago. And Prithviraj was the actor initially associated with the project. When 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.

Though Mahavir Karna has grown bigger in canvas, the filmmaker 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 stay the same," he adds.

The director says the team hopes to recreate the business that Bollywood film Dangal did. "We expect Mahavir Karna to do a business of Rs 2,000 crores worldwide," he says. Though the film has grown in scale, Vimal says he is confident he can pull it off. "I have always worked hard. It was same with Ennu Ninte Moitheen. So, I am confident about the project," he says.

The shoot will begin in October and the film is expected to hit the screens in December, 2019. The locations will be Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, Jaipur and Niagara Falls, Canada.

The film will feature top technicians from India as well as Hollywood. According to Vimal, a prominent actor from Hollywood will also be a part of the film.