Director Om Raut, who is joining hands with Prabhas for upcoming magnum opus Adipurush, says nobody other than the Baahubali star could play Lord Ram in this big-budget adaptation of Indian epic Ramayan. In his latest interview to a leading daily, Om Raut opened up on why he roped in Prabhas for this project. “I have seen him (as the lead) in my head, on my computer, in my script — if there is anybody who can play Prabhu Ram to perfection, it is Prabhas. As the biggest star in our country, he adds to the commercial value of the film. But more than that, he has a great combination of calmness and aggression. As the writer and director, that appealed to me,” Raut said.
Raut also opened up about the physical transformation Prabhas will undergo for the character. “Prabhas is working on his transformation. He has to attain an archer's physique, which is dramatically different from that of a warrior. We have begun consulting several experts. He will also begin learning archery soon,” he said.
The magnum opus will be shot as a bilingual in Telugu and Hindi. It will be dubbed and released in other languages such as Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and several foreign languages.
Talking about the project, Prabhas had said: “Every role and every character comes with its own challenges, but portraying a character like this comes with tremendous responsibility and pride. I am very excited to portray this character from our epic specially the way Om has designed it. I am sure the youth of our country will shower all their love on our film.”
The project is currently in its pre-production stage and will go on the floors next year. The makers are eyeing a massive 2022 release. However, they are yet to reveal the rest of the cast and crew as talks are underway with several leading actors from Bollywood to play crucial roles. Recent reports suggest that Keerthy Suresh has been signed as the leading lady but there’s no official announcement yet on the casting. If Keerthy comes on board, it will be the first time she will be paired opposite Prabhas.
Meanwhile, Prabhas will resume shooting of Radhe Shyam from September onwards. The project went on the floors in January earlier this year. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the team successfully wrapped up its Georgian schedule in March and returned to India safely. According to reports, the Indian schedule of the film will begin in a specially erected set in Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad. Pooja Hegde, who plays the leading lady, will join this schedule along with other key actors.
Prabhas also has a film with Mahanati director Nag Ashwin. Tipped to be a pan-Indian multilingual science-fiction project, Deepika Padukone has been roped in as the leading lady, making her Telugu debut.
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