Home Entertainment Juxtaposition of modern and ancient was extremely appealing: Ayan Mukerji on Brahmastra

Juxtaposition of modern and ancient was extremely appealing: Ayan Mukerji on Brahmastra

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Ayan Mukerji’s much-awaited fantasy adventure epic “Brahmastra“, featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, is scheduled to release on September 9, 2022. The film will witness Kapoor playing role of Shiva, a man with supernatural powers. Produced by Dharma production, film also features Alia Bhatt and megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

The first part of the trilogy, will be released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The film is mounted on a humongous budget and the team worked hard to get its VFX, action set pieces right. However, Mukherjee won’t call it a “superhero” project.

“I know the term superhero gets used with the film a lot, because it is sort of in that genre. But in my mind, it is not a superhero film. It is a fantasy adventure epic. It is a modern mythology piece. Shiva is closer to a modern representation of a deva than a western superhero. He is a normal guy who is born with a certain energy within him,” the filmmaker was quoted saying.

Mukerji was speaking at the preview of the film’s motion poster launch when he revealed that he was nurturing the idea of “Brahmastra” since 2011, after his 2009 debut with “Wake Up Sid”, when he visited the Himalayas. He later made the blockbuster “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani” in 2014 but deep dived into fleshing out “Brahmastra” soon after.

What appealed to Mukerji most was the possibility of mounting an epic film with roots in Indian mythology. “The feeling of spirituality that we have in India, when we go to the Himalaya or visit some ancient sites… Indians are spiritual, we believe in a higher power. I felt a story like this had not been made in India. Then, the story came to me as something set in the modern world. That juxtaposition of modern and ancient was extremely appealing. I felt I could continue to write as a modern filmmaker but also drawing from my roots and where we all come from. I felt that it was new and powerful,” Ayan said.

The film features Bhatt as Isha and Bachchan as Guruji. More details about their characters will be revealed in time.