Mahabharat- All discussions here only-2 - Page 10

Rajit Kapur trains Mahabharat actors

Popular for his role as Byomkesh Bakshi on Doordarshan, Rajit Kapur has been roped in to train the cast of the upcoming Star Plus serial, Mahabharat. "Rajit is training the actors of Siddarth Kumar Tewary's Mahabharat on Star Plus," informs a source associated with the project.

When contacted, Kapur confirmed the development. "It was Siddarth's idea," reveals the actor, who has many noted films and plays to his credit. "He came to me asking if I could device something for the actors that would help them to perform better. He being a friend, I could not say no to him. I started conducting acting workshops, along with some of my colleagues, for Mahabharat," he adds. Interestingly, the actor has never conducted any acting workshops before. "I haven't taken any acting workshops before, this is a learning experience for me as well," says a bemused Kapur.

The actor ended up training two sets of star casts for the show! "Mahabharat was suppose to take off two years ago," informs the actor. "I ended up teaching two sets of people as the cast two years ago has now been replaced by a new lot." The training, which took off nine months ago, includes speaking in shudh Hindi. Apart from this off-screen venture, Kapur will be seen doing a special appearance in the movie Singh Saheb The Great and a full-fledged role in From Here We Go.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/rajit-kapur-trains-mahabharat-actors/1146091/

Epic effects for Mahabharat

Touted to be the most expensive serial on television, the neo version of Mahabharat is all set to hit the small screen on September 16, 2013. Set to air on Star Plus, the epic series, produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary, creative director and producer of Swastik Productions, is one of the most ambitious television project being made on a budget of Rs.100 crore, which includes world-class special effects.

Commenting on the VFX, Sriniwas Rao - VFX Supervisor, Swastik Productions, says, "This is the first time that Indian television will see something on such a large scale. I have seen the rough cuts and trust me, all I can say is it looks very real." He adds further, "Creating bullets for films is so much easier then creating arrows forMahabharat. Recreating the whole look and feel of an ancient period was a challenge as it required a lot of imagination. But I am completely enjoying the task."

Talking about the budget of the film, Rao, who's earlier worked on special effects for films like Jajantaram Mamantaram, Veer, Aladin, 3 Idiots, says, "There are rumours about the project being 100 crores, but I can tell you it is much more than that. With a minute-long VFX sequence costing around Rs. 50,000 to Rs.70,000, one can imagine the entire budget for the show."

Starring people like Saurabh Jain, Pooja Sharma, Sayantani Ghosh, Pallavi Subhash, Prannet Bhatt and Puneet Issar, Mahabharat will replace Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai. With around 25 episodes ready, 45 other episodes are in the process of getting finalised.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/epic-effects-for-mahabharat/1161287/