As @bysqitzshowtime catches up with the talented director Ayan Mukherji regards the grand project ‘Brahmastra’, he excitedly cites “it is a romantic story in a supernatural format”
After several COVID-induced delays, Ayan Mukerji’s magnum opus “Brahmastra,” starring Bollywood A-listers Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, has locked a theatrical release date of Sept. 9, 2022.
The film, which also stars Nagarjuna Akkineni and Mouni Roy, will release in the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages.
The project is set in contemporary India, where a secret society called the Brahmansh have guarded ‘Astras’ (divine weapons) created in ancient India for generations. The most powerful among these, the Brahmastra, is now waking up and it threatens to destroy the universe.
Based on Indian mythology, the story is constructed as a trilogy with the first part following the protagonist Shiva (Kapoor), who is in love with Isha (Bhatt). Their lives are changed forever when Shiva learns that he has a mysterious connection to the Brahmastra and a great power within him that he doesn’t understand just yet — the power of fire. The film recounts Shiva’s adventures as he journeys into the world of Astras and discovers his destiny as the divine hero of the universe.
Mukerji is one of India’s brightest filmmaking talents who debuted as a writer-director with hit relationship drama “Wake Up Sid” (2009), starring Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma, followed by blockbuster musical romance “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani” (2013) with Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Kalki Koechlin.
“Brahmastra” is Mukerji’s dream project that he had been developing prior to “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.”
“‘Brahmastra,’ is very inspired by Indian mythology and Indian culture and set in the modern world with modern characters, so in many ways, it is a modern mythology of our own,” Mukerji told Variety. “And in that modern spectrum, Mr. Bachchan plays the role of what Professor Dumbledore is to Harry Potter, or what Gandalf the wizard is to Frodo Baggins — he plays the wise teacher guide, who helps Shiva’s character to actualize his powers and find his destiny.”
India has made very few films in the superhero genre, including the “Krrish” franchise starring Hrithik Roshan and “Ra.One” with Shah Rukh Khan. And those have largely been based on sci-fi or futuristic elements and not Indian mythology.
Besides Harry Potter and “The Lord of the Rings,” Mukerji cites Marvel and the legends around the Hindu god Shiva among his influences, describing himself as a “geeky reader” whilst growing up.
He even said, “Part one is based in India, UK and New York, you never know part 2 or 3 could be in Melbourne”.
Here his a sneak peek of part one of Brahmastra:
Mukerji believes that India had previously been held back by insufficient technology in attempting to create films in the genre. But now the country has the knowhow for the filmmaker’s “Astraverse,” and is a go to post-production destination for FX-laden Hollywood content.
The “Brahmastra” trilogy is produced by Fox Star Studios, Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, Prime Focus and Starlight Pictures. While the producers declined to disclose the budget for the first part of the trilogy, Variety understands from industry sources that it is roughly INR3 billion ($40 million). Mukerji feels that when Hollywood studio heads watch the film, they will experience the effect of having seen a $100 million project.
“In the mainstream world of entertainment, I really think that ‘Brahmastra’ is that step that takes us from India towards the West, where they can appreciate Indian culture and our inherent storytelling and still get enough bang for their buck,” says Mukerji.
Fox Star Studios is now part of the Disney group and Mukerji hopes to build a relationship with the parent company. “I was very excited and remain very excited by the idea that Disney is now sitting on top of what it is that I’m trying to build in India,” said Mukerji. “That’s the goal, frankly, to put it out there, build, on the back of ‘Brahmastra,’ out of India, hopefully a global pop culture phenomenon like Marvel has become. I’m unlocking the full working relationship with Disney. It is a work in progress.”
The second and third parts of “Brahmastra” are due in 2024 and 2026.
Astraverse. It is a new original cinematic universe inspired by deeply rooted concepts and tales in Indian
mythology but set in the modern world, with epic storytelling of fantasy, adventure, good vs evil, love and
hope; all told using cutting edge technology and never-seen-before visual spectacles.
Our story is set in modern-day India, against the premise of a secret society called the Brahmānsh; who
generation after generation have protected many divine ‘Astras’ (weapons) that were created in ancient India,
and safe-guarded from the eyes of the world.
The most powerful and the most deadly amongst these divine weapons; the Lord of all the Other Astras –
named after the most powerful weapon of the Gods, the BRAHMĀSTRA, is now waking up. And it threatens
to completely destroy the universe we know today.
BRAHMĀSTRA: PART ONE, is the story of SHIVA – a young man and our protagonist, who is on the brink of an
epic love, with a girl named… Isha. But their world is turned upside down, because Shiva learns that he has a
mysterious connection to the Brahmāstra… and a great power within him that he doesn’t understand just yet
– the power of Fire.
In this movie, we experience Shiva’s adventures as he journeys into the world of Astras and in turn, discovers
his destiny as the DIVINE HERO of the universe.
Produced by Fox Star Studios, Dharma Productions, Prime Focus and Starlight Pictures the magnum opus will
release theatrically on 09.09.2022 in 5 Indian languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada with
a stellar ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Mouni Roy and Nagarjuna Akkineni.
