Phantom Films to produce trilogy on Mahabharata character Ashwatthama

Phantom Films is all set to produce a trilogy based on the mythological character Ashwatthama. The films will be adapted from author Krishna Udaysankar’s book, titled Immortal. The rights of the book has been acquired from the publishers, Hachette India. 

Ashwatthama is one of the primary characters in the great Indian epic, Mahabharata, and was the son of Dronacharya, teacher of the Pandavas. Ashwatthama was cursed with immortality and a life of pain by Krishna for the sins he committed during the war of Kurukshetra. 

But the trilogy apparently won't only delve into the long-gone age. “A blend of history, myth, and fantasy, immortal narrates the story of Professor Bharadvaj, who is unwittingly pulled into a hunt for the 'vajra', believed to have trans-mutative powers that can unlock the secrets of immortality,” said Phantom Films in an official statement. 

We are also told that the film will be made on a big scale and will be shot across the sub-continent. “Our adaptation of the book is beyond fantasy-fiction and will be along the lines of a 'quest genre', which will take our hero on an adventure across the sub-continent, much like Indiana Jones. So it will be a big scale film, with both shreds of historical and action-adventure storytelling,” said the makers. 

Speaking about the development, Madhu Mantena of Phantom said in a statement, “We are very proud to announce this magnificent project as a trilogy on Ashwathama in a modern context. It’s a very powerful story written beautifully by Krishna Udayasankar. The concept is something that has not been experienced on the big screen before and that too on such a huge scale. We are very excited to start this journey.” 

The director and the cast of the film have not been announced yet.