Variety reports:
When you have the Dalai Lama’s explicit blessing for your movie, the sky’s the limit.
That is the unique trump card being played by telecom mogul B.K. Modi, who is readying “Buddha,” a $120 million English-language biopic of the Buddha through his M Pictures. Even more ambitious is “The Mahabharata,” another retelling of the epic tale that is a major tenet of Hinduism, which producer Bobby Bedi is pitching as a historical actioner akin to an Indian “Lord of the Rings.” . . .
Modi has corralled the talents of Hollywood-based producers Michael Shane and Anthony Romano (“I, Robot,” “Catch Me if You Can”) for “Buddha.” They will package it for global distribution either through a studio or the indie route. Production is skedded to begin at the end of this year.
For his part, Bedi has called on “The Lord of the Rings” producer Barrie Osborne to manage the three-part “Mahabharata” while he oversees the two separate TV series, the allied publishing activities and the game spinoff that is now being set up with Electronic Arts’ Hong Kong division. Even with lensing in low-cost India, budget will be deep into nine figures. . . .
It could be interesting to compare the Buddha epic to Pan Nalin’s low-budget Buddha biopic, if they come out at the same time.
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