With Mohenjo Daro, filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker faced the mammoth task of building sets and props, and creating costumes and the basic plot based in the pre-historic land of Mohenjo Daro, the largest cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. But knowing Gowariker's record of successfully pulling off period films like Lagaan: Once Upon A Time in India (2001) and Jodha Akhar (2008), everyone was excited to see how well he recreates Mohenjo Daro.
While he has done an admirable job of crafting that world, the film has come under scanner for alleged historical inaccuracies after the release of the trailer. Lead actor Pooja Hegde's outfit, the use of horses, a bull-horned king and use of the name Mohenjo Daro as the title itself have been criticized.
Speaking to IANS, Gowariker said that his portrayal of Mohenjo Daro comes from a lot of research, but he had to create most of the film from imagination.
"We had to build a lot from imagination, and we did that after doing research and consulting the archaeologists about the possibilities and probabilities of this period, which does not get categorised as history, but as pre-history," Gowariker said.
"I stayed within the findings from the excavations and the artefacts, while creating a make-believe world," Gowariker added.
Mohenjo Daro, starring Hrithik Roshan in the lead, is set to release on 12 August.
- With inputs from IANS