Film based on the ancient civilization of Mohenjdaro.
By Tathagata Mitra
BANGALORE: Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker, who has already garnered a great deal of popularity owing to his historical pieces like Lagaan and Jodhaa Akbar and patriotic pieces like Swades and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, is coming back again for yet another historical piece.
This time, however, he goes back way more than just a few centuries. With previous collaborator Hrithik Roshan in the lead, Gowariker plans to go back a few thousand years in his next project: Mohenjo-Daro.
Mohenjo-Daro will be based on the ancient civilization of Mohenjdaro, which is also one of the oldest civilizations of the world. With state of the art machinery and more than efficient infrastructure to ensure the proper functioning of the cities, this civilization was much ahead of its time, historians agree.
Hrithik Roshan will play the lead role in Mohenjo-daro. Not much is known about his role in the movie but it is safe to say he will play the role of a young man who was a citizen of the great ancient civilization. This is not the first time Hrithik will be playing a role in a period piece. His previous collaboration with Gowariker in Jodhaa Akbar earned him a Filmfare award for Best Actor.
A lot of fans also speculate that he is being eyed for the role of Shiva for Amish Tripathi’s ‘Shiva trilogy’ whose film rights have been purchased by Karan Johar. With his upcoming action film Bang Bang wrapping up shoot, Hrithik will have no problem committing to a film of massive scale, as any Gowariker film is expected to be.
Gowariker had been writing the script for this film for almost two years. He told the media, “I have been working on the script for the past two years now. I am glad that finally it is happening”.
Gowariker is putting together a top technical team for Mohenjo-Daro, roping in German cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub to recreate the Indus Valley Civilization of 2600 BC. Karl has previously worked in films like Independence Day, Stargate, and The Haunting. Gowariker is also employing stunt coordinator Glenn Boswell, who choreographed the action in Hollywood films like The Matrix series, Ghost Rider, The Hobbit Series and others.
A R Rahman is to compose the score for this film. All in all it is going to be one of Bollywood’s most expensive projects. Mohenjo-Daro hits the studio floors in September and will look for a late 2015, early 2016 release.