Ranveer Singh won't be playing Lord Shiva in 'Immortals of Meluha' adaptation, confirms author Amish Tripathi

Highlights:

• Reports claimed Ranveer Singh bought rights to The Immortals of Meluha.
• Amish Tripathi denied the reports on Tuesday.
• The author said the rights to the Shiva Trilogy are still with him.
• Several past attempts to adapt the books have failed.
• Ranveer Singh’s next confirmed project is the zombie thriller Pralay.

Reports about Ranveer Singh starring as Lord Shiva in a film adaptation of Amish Tripathi’s bestselling Shiva Trilogy created major buzz on Tuesday. According to earlier reports, the actor was set to lead and co-produce a grand big-screen adaptation of The Immortals of Meluha, the first book in the popular trilogy. However, author Amish Tripathi later dismissed those reports and clarified that no agreement had been signed with the actor.

The initial report claimed that, following Dhurandhar's success, Ranveer Singh was preparing for a dramatic shift in his screen image. The actor was reportedly planning to play a character inspired by Lord Shiva in a large-scale adaptation of the Shiva Trilogy, also known as the Immortals of Meluha series.

The report stated that Ranveer had acquired the rights to The Immortals of Meluha under his production banner, Maa Kasam Film. It also claimed that the actor had partnered with Birla Studios to develop the project as a trilogy.

The Shiva Trilogy follows the story of a warrior from the Himalayas who rises to greatness in the ancient kingdom of Meluha. The books combine mythology, history, and realism. They reimagine the Indus Valley Civilization as Meluha and present Shiva as a mortal man who later becomes known as a God.

According to the earlier report, the makers planned to build the project as a long-term cinematic universe. The report also claimed that writing work had already started and the team was focusing on screenplay development and world-building.

“Ranveer has been passionate about bringing Meluha to the big screen for a long time now. The acquisition happened recently, and the project is now officially under development. Makers are approaching the franchise as a long-term cinematic universe, and the plan is to tell the story over 3 films. The writing work has already begun, and the team is taking its time to crack the screenplay and world-building. The first part is expected to go on floors in 2028,” the publication quoted a source as saying.

The report added that a director had not yet been selected for the project.

“The director will only be locked once the script work reaches a certain stage. Right now, the focus is entirely on developing the material,” the source added.

However, just hours after the report gained attention, Amish Tripathi denied all the claims. Speaking to Variety India, the author said that the rights to the Shiva Trilogy were still with him and no deal had been finalized with Ranveer Singh or anyone else.

“The rights for the Shiva Trilogy are with me. And nothing has been signed with anyone as yet. Of course, I have huge respect for Ranveer, and am a big fan of his. But this news is not true.”

Amish’s statement put an end to speculation about Ranveer’s involvement in the project.

The Shiva Trilogy remains one of the most successful book series in Indian publishing history. Published in 2010, The Immortals of Meluha became a massive bestseller and introduced readers to Amish Tripathi’s fictional universe, often called the Amishverse.

The first book follows Shiva, a tribal leader from Tibet, who moves to the empire of Meluha. The people of the kingdom believe he is the Neelkanth, a prophesied savior. The story then follows his journey and transformation.

The trilogy continued with two sequels, The Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras. The books became hugely popular and reportedly sold more than 2.5 million copies in print.

Over the years, several filmmakers have tried to adapt the Shiva Trilogy for the screen, but none of the projects have moved forward.

In 2014, filmmaker Karan Johar reportedly acquired the rights to the trilogy. However, that adaptation was eventually shelved.

Later, reports claimed that filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali had also bought the rights to the books. That version also failed to take off.

In 2022, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur joined another adaptation project based on Amish Tripathi’s books. Producer Roy Price backed the high-budget digital series. However, that project too failed to move ahead.

Amish Tripathi has now clarified that the rights to the series remain with him.

Meanwhile, Ranveer Singh continues to make headlines for his upcoming projects. Reports stated that the actor was earlier expected to star in Don 3. However, the project reportedly did not move forward because of creative differences and a dispute between Ranveer and filmmaker Farhan Akhtar.

It has now been confirmed that Ranveer’s next project will be Pralay, directed by Jai Mehta. The film is being described as a big-budget zombie thriller.

The reports around the Shiva Trilogy adaptation created excitement among fans, especially because of the popularity of Amish Tripathi’s books and Ranveer Singh’s recent success. However, Amish’s clarification has confirmed that no official adaptation involving the actor is currently in development.