Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 14, 2017)

Following years and several rounds of A-list actors, including Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Tiger Shroff, walking in and out of Karan Johar’s Shhuddhi, a screen adaptation of Amish Tripathi’s bestselling book The Immortals of Meluha, the troubled film was duly shelved after all plans to resurrect it by way of a stellar cast came to naught. But recent reports suggest that the adaptation rights have changed hands, from KJo’s Dharma Productions to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s banner SLB Films. And now it has emerged that Hrithik Roshan, who is currently holidaying in the US with his boys, Hrehaan and Hridhaan, and ex-wife Sussanne Khan, has been approached to play Lord Shiva in the film.


The first book in Tripathi’s Shiva trilogy, The Immortals of Meluha, is followed by the Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras. It was first published in 2010 by the author’s agent after it was rejected by several publishing houses and went on to become a raging success. It is set in the land of Meluha and starts with the arrival of Lord Shiva. In the story, the Meluhans believe that he is their fabled saviour Neelkanth and Shiva decides to help them in their war against the Chandravanshis, who had joined forces with the cursed Nagas.

Meanwhile, Hrithik and Bhansali have previously collaborated on the filmmaker’s 2010 film, Guzaarish. When Mirror reached out to SLB, the filmmaker chose not to comment, while Amish Tripathi apologetically excused himself insisting he could speak about anything else but this. Let’s wait and watch if the trio finds themselves on the same page.