After Ramayan, it's Mahabharata once again

Mumbai, Feb 27 (UNI) After Sagar Arts created Ramayana for the second time, Star Plus has announced a remake of the legendary saga Mahabharata to be directed by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi.

The series is being made in association with accredited and accomplished names in the entertainment industry like Bobby Bedi, Barrie Osborne, Amardeep Behl, Farrukh Dhondy, Ranjit Kapoor and Tavlin Singh.

Without deviating from the essence of one of the greatest legends ever told, Mahabharata will be presented in a compelling and entertaining style that is completely fresh. Shot on High Definition, it will have state of art techniques of styling, graphics, computer animation and design elements.

Star Plus GM and EVP Keertan Adyanthaya said, ''It is our privilege to bring to our audience this great Indian epic, Mahabharata, which has a timeless message. For Star Plus, this is an opportunity to enrich the lives of our viewers with the power of wisdom contained in the eternal message of the Mahabharata and the sacred Bhagvad Gita. All this and more is presented with grandeur, finesse and on a scale that will captivate entire families.'' The creator of several award winning blockbusters and critically acclaimed international films including ''Bandit Queen'', ''Fire'', ''Maqbool'' and ''Mangal Pandey - The Rising'', Bollywood filmmaker and National Award winner Bobby Bedi is the producer of this great epic.

On the TV series based on the timeless classic, Mr Bedi said, ''Mahabharata has been told and retold over centuries. The issue of remaking has been debated ad infinitum. I strongly believe in retelling stories and this is not because there is a famine of ideas. I believe that good stories need to be brought before the audiences that are separated from the originals because the original was in a different time zone, a different language or a different cultural milieu. Sometimes, it is worth retelling a story just because it is now technologically possible to tell it in a better way.'' Speaking on directing the mega epic, Dr Dwivedi said, ''The relevance of Mahabharata goes beyond mere words, one can associate with it to date. In the supremely competing world of globalisation, the importance of Mahabharata is heightened. The wealth of sentiments, virtues, wisdom and philosophy in Mahabharata enlighten us even today. Though it is ironic, but I shall make a sincere effort and present this incomparable epic with reference to the metrosexual age.'' UNI JM NM PY DS1623