Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has opened up about his upcoming project Pralay, starring Ranveer Singh. The film, which has been generating considerable curiosity, is set to explore a large-scale post-apocalyptic world—an idea that, according to Mehta, has been in development for quite some time.

Ranveer Singh starrer Pralay is not an adaptation, reveals Hansal Mehta

Speaking about the origins of the project to The Hollywood Reporter, Mehta revealed that the concept was initially developed by filmmaker Jai Mehta, who had been working on it independently before Ranveer Singh came on board. “Jai had been working on this idea for a long time.” He further explained how the collaboration took shape once Ranveer expressed interest in the concept, “When Ranveer saw his work, he reached out to him and then Jai pitched it to him. Once Ranveer said he liked the idea, we invested in developing it-helping Jai create the world he wants to present in the film.”

Detailing the scale and ambition of Pralay, Mehta described it as a genre-defining project for Indian cinema. “Its a post-apocalyptic world that hasnt been attempted before at this scale in India. Development is not just about writing. It also includes ideas-how you shape them, how you visualise them, and how you eventually sell them to a third party, to a star or a studio. We’ve invested in building those ideas,” he further told the portal.

Addressing speculation about the film being inspired by existing literary works, Mehta firmly dismissed such claims, clarifying that the story is entirely original. “It’s not an adaptation”, he added and continued, “Jay and Vishal Kapoor have written the original story. Further, I think a book like Blindness is not easily adapted to film. I had seen the 2008 film adaptation (starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo) and it wasn’t great. Writers like Saramago or Salman Rushdie… I feel they are best experienced on paper. Their books lose all their magic when interpreted for cinema.”

He also emphasised that the success of the film will largely depend on how convincingly its world is brought to life on screen. He shared, “The victory of Jai’s film will depend on its immersive nature”. “How do you make a post-apocalyptic, dystopian world believable? To that end, we are working with some of the best talent from around the world. And we are trying to achieve it at a fraction of the cost in which Hollywood would have done it.”

With its ambitious premise and focus on immersive storytelling, Pralay is shaping up to be a significant addition to the evolving landscape of high-concept cinema in India.

Also Read: Ranveer Singh to lead zombie thriller ‘Pralay’ as Hansal Mehta expands True Story Films slate

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