"It's time for our desi Superhero!"
India’s superhero Shaktimaan will soon be adapted for the big screen as Sony Pictures has acquired the film adaptation rights for the character.
On February 10, 2022, Sony Pictures India announced on Twitter a short video showing the rise of Shaktimaan.
The video shows a camera and glasses, which were signature accessories of Shaktimaan‘s alter ego, followed by the emblem on the superhero’s chest.
The text in the video reads:
“As darkness and evil prevail upon humanity, it’s time for him to return.”
The video then goes on to give a closer look at Shaktimaan‘s iconic costume.
The video was captioned: “After the super success of our many superhero films in India and all over the globe, it’s time for our desi Superhero!”
After the super success of our many superhero films in India and all over the globe, it's time for our desi Superhero!@ThoughtsBrewing @SinghhPrashant @MadhuryaVinay @actMukeshKhanna @vivekkrishnani @ladasingh @sonypicsfilmsin @sonypicsindia pic.twitter.com/sQzS2Z6Oju
— Sony Pictures India (@SonyPicsIndia) February 10, 2022
In a follow-up tweet, the studio wrote:
“We are excited to join hands with Brewing Thoughts Private Limited, and Mukesh Khanna’s Bheeshm International.
“Get ready for #ShaktimaanMovie; more details coming soon.”
Sony Pictures has not yet announced a release date or who would play the character on screen.
As per film analyst Taran Adarsh, the project will star “one of India’s major superstars in the lead role” and will be directed by a “top name”.
According to reports, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan and Allu Arjun have been considered for the title role in the film adaptation.
Taran also informed on Instagram that the franchise will be a trilogy.
Shaktimaan was originally a TV series that began airing on Doordarshan in 1997.
Starring Mukesh Khanna in the lead role, it featured an ensemble cast of Kitu Gidwani, Vaishnavi, Surendra Pal, and Tom Alter.
The show was a huge success and ran for 450 episodes over almost eight years.
The character of Shaktimaan is a superhuman with mystical and supernatural powers, who fights evil in the world.
The character was conceptualised by Mukesh Khanna in the early 80s.
In 1997, the actor had said: “In Indian mythology, there are a lot of strong characters but no super-heroes.
“All we get to see is our Superman or Spiderman, who are alien concepts.”
“That’s why I decided to create an Indian superhero, Shaktimaan, who is born out of a yagna, and a result of all the creative energies of the universe.”
In 2020, Mukesh had confirmed that a film trilogy would be made on the character, promising that it would be bigger than Krrish.
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