Hansal Mehta Clarifies: Ranveer Singh Starrer Pralay is an Original Story, Not an Adaptation
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has provided new details about his upcoming high-concept project, Pralay, starring Ranveer Singh. Addressing industry speculation, Mehta clarified that the film—a large-scale post-apocalyptic drama—is an entirely original story written by Jai Mehta and Vishal Kapoor, rather than an adaptation of existing literary works.
The project originated with filmmaker Jai Mehta, who developed the concept independently before Ranveer Singh expressed interest. Hansal Mehta explained that once the actor came on board, the team invested heavily in “building the world” Jai envisioned. He emphasized that for a film of this nature, development goes beyond just the script; it involves the complex task of visualizing a believable dystopian environment that hasn’t been attempted at this scale in Indian cinema before.
Mehta also dismissed comparisons to famous dystopian novels like Jose Saramago’s Blindness. He noted that while he had seen previous film adaptations of such works, he believes authors like Saramago or Salman Rushdie are best experienced on paper, as their “magic” often gets lost when translated to the screen. By contrast, Pralay is being built from the ground up specifically for the cinematic medium.
The success of Pralay will rely on its ability to immerse the audience in its setting. To achieve this, the production is collaborating with top-tier international talent to create a realistic post-apocalyptic world. Mehta highlighted that they are aiming to match Hollywood-level quality but at a fraction of the typical cost. As the project moves forward, Pralay stands out as a significant gamble on high-concept, original storytelling in the evolving Indian film landscape.
