Writer-lyricist Manoj Muntashir is all set to make a blockbuster with Ajay Devgn in his upcoming movie.
This Neeraj Pandey’s directorial venture is based on ancient Indian philosopher Chanakya, and is also titled ‘Chanakya‘.
Muntashir tells mid-day, “Chanakya has been delayed due to the pandemic. Ajay only resumed filming in November and will wrap up his prior commitments before working on this. We should roll in the last quarter of 2021.”
He also says that Ajay Devgn needs to sport a bald look for ‘Chanakya’ and therefore he cannot juggle the shooting schedule with other projects.
“Ajay has to go bald for the film. There are several dramatic points relating to his character. When I write the script, I make notes about his hair, clothes, and accessories,” the writer added.
Muntashir believes that Chanakya seems worthy of being an “Oscar-entry”.
“Neeraj and I traveled across India, including Bihar, where Pataliputra [now, Patna] is situated, as part of the research. For a year-and-a-half, we focused on traveling and reading Chanakya’s books, including Kautilya, before putting pen to paper. Neeraj is so brilliant that the process was a cakewalk,” Manoj went on to say.
“You must note that even a film set in ancient times must resonate with today’s youth. The dialogues have to point to the goings-on. Chanakya includes at least 15 such moments where parallels can be drawn between the eras. We’ve used different languages, but the film will be comprehensible. While replicating an era on screen, doing justice to the period’s languages is like balancing the double-edged sword – it cannot be entirely true to the era, and must still not be distanced from it,” concluded Manoj Muntashir.
‘Chanakya‘ will be made appealing to the current generation and will resonate with today’s era.