Ranbir Kapoor eyes Arjun, Katrina Kaif picks Draupadi in The Mahabharata

Abu Dhabi - The film will be based on the critically-acclaimed Malayalam novel Randamoozham

Indian actors Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif are all excited about the film The Mahabharata, which is based on MT Vasudevan Nair's novel Randamoozham and if given a chance, Ranbir would love to play Karan or Arjun while Katrina would like to play Draupadi in the epic.
The stars were in Abu Dhabi for the SIIMA Awards ceremony this weekend. The duo who are awaiting the release of their upcoming film Jagga Jasoos spoke to City Times during a press conference held at the Dusit Thani in the Capital on Saturday.
Apart from talking about Jagga Jasoos, the stars also spoke about their love for South Indian cinema.
"Mahabharata is one of the greatest Indian stories ever. Now we have the technology to support the vision of Mahabharata. We have already seen that in Baahubali - as to what can be achieved with storytelling, technology and cinematic experience," Ranbir told City Times.
Ranbir said he is willing take on any role offered to him in The Mahabharata: "I would love to be part of it, language notwithstanding. I would love to play the character of Karan or Arjun. We did a film called Raajneeti, which was based on Mahabharata. But to play the actual character (from the epic) will be really interesting."
Katrina too joined saying: "This is one of the greatest stories one can tell. So many films are inspired by it."
Katrina told us that if she were to pick a character to play in the epic, it would be Draupadi. "That's what everyone would say. But if the director sees me in that role then yes," the actress added.
Ranbir said he has always admired Malayalam cinema for making story-based films. "They don't cater to masala cinema (potboilers) but want to make good stories with brilliant performances."
Randamoozham is a Malayalam novel, which retells Mahabharata from the perspective of Bhima. The Mahabharata happens to be the most expensive non-English language film.
Will the actor ever work in any south Indian films?
"If a film is universal then the language doesn't matter. See a movie like Baahubali. It has appealed to people worldwide. It has inspired me."
The actor counted SS Rajamouli, S Shankar and AR Murugadoss among his top South Indian directors.
"I have interacted with these three directors. There are some amazing films being made down south. It's so inspiring and gutsy."
He said south Indian films were futuristic, pushing bars of technology and storytelling. Ranbir was also close to signing S Shankar's 'I. "It was exciting but unfortunately it didn't work then."
Katrina spoke out about her 2006 Malayalam venture Balram vs Tharadas. Talking about her experience in Malayalam cinema, she said: "I wanted to work with him (director IV Sasi). It was the toughest thing I have ever done in my life."
The actress was asked to learn full page dialogues and once done, she was asked to say it 20 times faster.
"For me, it's always been about being part of a good cinema. If a script is amazing then I am completely open to it."
On other south Indian languages, Katrina said: "I think Vikram is an amazing actor and Prabhas has done a phenomenal job in the Baahubali series."
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com