Sagar Pictures Entertainment has announced a large‑scale, seven‑film cinematic project adapting the Bhagavata Mahapurana, with the opening chapter, Shrimad Bhagavatam Part I: Vishnurata, slated for a global theatrical release in 2027. The studio said the first teaser poster has been revealed as production nears completion.
Legacy studio, family directors
The film is being co‑directed by brothers Akash Sagar Chopra and Amrit Sagar Chopra, who hold executive roles at Sagar Pictures Entertainment (SPE) — Akash as chief executive and Amrit as senior vice‑president of content. The siblings are grandsons of the late filmmaker and producer Ramanand Sagar, whose television adaptation of the Ramayana in 1987 left a lasting mark on Indian popular culture.
In presenting the project, SPE describes a spiritual and visual universe centred on devotion, duty and the relationship between humankind and the divine, with Lord Shri Krishna as a central figure.
Method and scale
The Chopra brothers said they spent six years studying the text before feeling prepared to translate it for the screen, concluding that the material required “a vast cinematic canvas” rather than a conventional film approach. They emphasised the need for a new cinematic language appropriate to contemporary audiences, rather than any attempt to reproduce their grandfather’s work.
“As both brothers and co‑directors of this film, we grew up with the stories of the ‘Bhagavatam.’ For millions of Indians, we believe these stories exist not only as spiritual knowledge, but as part of our civilisational memory. Our grandfather brought the ‘Ramayana’ to the screen, and it became a defining medium through which a generation experienced the epic. But we cannot recreate what he did, nor would we try. Every generation must discover its own cinematic language, shaped by the medium and possibilities of its time.”
SPE said the production draws inspiration from devotional paintings, sculpture and familiar sacred imagery, applying these reference points to an expansive production design and visual effects strategy. Production was described as approaching completion at the time of the announcement.
- Project: seven‑film adaptation of the Bhagavata Mahapurana
- First instalment: Shrimad Bhagavatam Part I: Vishnurata
- Directors: Akash Sagar Chopra and Amrit Sagar Chopra
- Global theatrical release planned for: 2027
Context and consequences
The move represents a notable moment for Indian studio filmmaking, positioning SPE to revisit mythological storytelling on a theatrical scale rather than the television format that made the family name familiar to earlier generations. The original Ramayana adaptation became a touchstone for many viewers; SPE’s new project signals an intent to reinterpret sacred narratives for cinema audiences worldwide.
If successful, the franchise could influence how other Indian studios approach epic religious and mythological material, testing the appetite for high‑budget, multi‑part religious dramas in cinemas rather than on television or streaming platforms. It may also prompt discussion about the responsibilities and sensitivities involved in adapting texts that form part of collective spiritual memory.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Studio | Sagar Pictures Entertainment |
| Project scope | Seven‑part theatrical franchise |
| First film | Shrimad Bhagavatam Part I: Vishnurata |
| Directors | Akash Sagar Chopra, Amrit Sagar Chopra |
| Planned release | Global theatrical release in 2027 |
Beyond box‑office calculations, the announcement will likely draw attention from scholars, religious communities and critics interested in how ancient texts are adapted for mass entertainment — whether the adaptation remains faithful to devotional sensibilities, how it negotiates modern cinematic grammar, and where it sits on the spectrum between reverence and spectacle.
For now, audiences have a first visual tease in the form of the teaser poster and the promise of a film that aims to marry devotional iconography with contemporary production techniques. SPE’s next steps — casting, marketing strategy and how the story will be divided across seven films — will be watched closely by an industry attentive to franchises with global ambitions.
