Mahabharata in the making

WALT Disney Co is filming a series based on an ancient Indian poem about a warring dynasty, as it seeks to gain a stronger foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing entertainment and streaming markets.

A retelling of the Mahabharata, the some 2,000-year-old Sanskrit poem about two groups of cousins vying for their clan’s throne and kingdom, will be released in 2024, Gaurav Banerjee, head of content at Disney+ Hotstar – Disney’s Indian digital platform – said at the media giant’s three-day D23 extravaganza event at the Anaheim Convention Center in California recently.

Disney is hoping the longest poem ever written – with 200,000 verses in its unabridged version, it’s like the South Asian version of Game Of Thrones – will strike gold in India as streaming platforms come under increasing pressure from investors to show they can buck a downward trend in subscriber growth hitting Netflix Inc.

A rerun of the 1980s production of the Ramayana – an ancient tale that like the Mahabharata is central to Hinduism – was a surprise TV hit in India during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Mythology has always been one of the most popular genres on Indian television,” said Mihir Shah, the Mumbai-based vice president at consultancy Media Partners Asia.

“The announcement of Mahabharata on Disney+ Hotstar is a move to extend this success” into the world of online streaming, he said.

Yet the enormous scope of these stories – the Mahabharata is roughly 10 times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined – makes it a daunting prospect for any filmmaker.

The 1980s version of the Ramayana, the shorter of the two poems, was played out over 78 episodes.

SS Rajamouli, one India’s most successful directors who is known for his trademark action-filled epics, told Bloomberg News earlier this year that he was girding himself to eventually tackle a cinematic version of the Mahabharata. – Bloomberg