This film had eight superstars and one of the biggest budgets ever in Bollywood history but made only Rs 1.5 crore at the box office
In 2013, filmmaker Amaan Khan attempted what was considered impossible – adapting the epic Mahabharata into a film. The result was an animated feature film that included the biggest names in Indian film industry. The film featured eight superstars in the lead roles and boasted of a budget that rivalled some of Bollywood’s biggest productions. And yet, it was a massive failure.
The film that earned Rs 1.5 crore despite eight superstars
Mahabharat, as the film was called, was directed by Khan and produced by Kushal Kantilal Gada and Dhaval Jayantilal Gada. Made on a budget of Rs 50 crore, it was not just the most expensive animated film ever in India but also one of the most expensive feature films at that point. The film boasted of a strong voice cast with Amitabh Bachchan voicing Bheeshma, supported by big names like Ajay Devgn, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee, Jackie Shroff, Shatrughan Sinha, and Vidya Balan. The presence of these eight superstars – along with notable actors like Anupam Kher and Deepti Naval – made the film a big prospect. However, upon its release on December 27, 2013, it crashed, earning just Rs 1.5 crore and closing shop in just a week.
How the actors did not charge money for the film
It was supposed that the high budget of the film was probably due to its big cast but was later revealed that none of the big names got paid for the film. All the big stars dubbed their portions for the film for free, giving up remuneration in order to free budget for the animation and publicity. In the end, however, that did not pan out as planned.
Why Mahabharata was criticised
The film was praised for its ambitious scale and cast, and even the performances of the cast were applauded by critics and audiences alike. However, the technical aspects of the film were pointed out as weak. The animation, in particular, was heavily panned. Some critics even said that the battle scenes were badly drawn and boring, and that the lip-sync and dubbing was off, making the film a difficult watch.
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 "An AI-generated still from Mahabharata")
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