Aamir Khan's Rs 1,000 crore Mahabharata to be co-produced by a Chinese company?

Aamir Khan is reportedly looking to bring Baahubali actor Prabhas on board for his Rs 1,000 crore Mahabharata and if latest reports are to be believed, a Chinese company is keen to co-produce the big-budget Bollywood project and turn it into a multi-billion dollar grosser.

The Chinese version of Dangal, which was released in China with a title called Shuai Jiao Baba (meaning Let's Wrestle Dad), made a staggering business at the Middle Kingdom's box office and earned a whopping $191.75 million or Rs 1,235.93 crores gross after its lifetime run. The movie is currently the highest-grossing Indian film in China.

Aamir's Secret Superstar too struck gold at the China market and raked in approximately Rs 2,000 crore.

Looking at the tremendous business and potential of Aamir Khan movies, a Chinese company has expressed interest to co-producing Mahabharata. According to reports, the Dangal actor was recently spotted holding a copy of The Condensed Mahabharata of Vyasa by P Lal at the airport.

"Mahabharata is an epic with stories about families that will be entertaining to Chinese audiences as well. A few Indian production houses and film companies have already signed treaties with their Chinese counterparts, and a series of collaborations can be expected in the days to come," a trade expert was quoted as saying by Deccan Chronicle.

"And who better than Aamir to spearhead a big-budget Bollywood flick co-produced by a Chinese company? If people in both countries watch it, it will be a multi-billion dollar grosser," the expert added.

Earlier, there were reports that business tycoon Mukesh Ambani had agreed to co-produce Aamir Khan's most ambitious project Mahabharata.

Aamir had earlier said he wanted to make Mahabharata but was scared to start it as it would require many years of research and preparation.

"My dream project is to make the Mahabharata but I'm afraid of starting the project as I know it will consume at least 15-20 years of my life," Aamir was quoted as saying by Filmfare.

He further said that though his favourite character is Karna, he feels the role of Krishna would be more suitable to him.

"My favourite character is Karna, but I don't know if I'll be able to play him due to my physique. I may just have to play Krishna. I also liked the character of Arjun. He was the only person who asked Krishna why he had to kill his own people," he had said.

Aamir is currently busy shooting for his next film Thugs of Hindostan. Directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, along with Aamir, the movie features an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Katrina Kaif and is set in the pre-Independence era.