Disney India says planning series on ‘Mahabharata’

Walt Disney Co is filming a series based on an ancient Indian poem about a warring dynasty, as it seeks to gain a stronger foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing entertainment and streaming markets.

“A retelling of the ‘Mahabharata’, the some 2,000-year-old Sanskrit poem about two groups of cousins vying for their clan’s throne and kingdom, will be released in 2024,” Gaurav Banerjee, head of content at Disney+ Hotstar — Disney’s Indian digital platform — said at the media giant’s three-day D23 extravaganza event at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.

Of the three main international streaming services in India, Disney is at the top, with just under 60 million subscribers. Live streaming of cricket, India’s national obsession has been a big driver of that growth, though Disney lost the rights to digitally broadcast tournaments earlier this year to a consortium of Hollywood studio Paramount Global and Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd.

Image courtesy of (Photo courtesy: statesman.com)

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