The ongoing fantasy fiction, Sinhasan Battissi on Sony Pal, will soon have a track which will cover the fabled stories of Raja Vikramaditya and Betaal — the vampire. The two characters earlier became popular with the Doordarshan series, Vikram Aur Betaal in the late 80s.
Dheeraj Kumar, the producer of Sinhasan Battissi, says that the story of Betaal is integral and an important part of Raja Vikramaditya’s life. “We can’t take the story forward without this track,” he says and remarks that the character will be introduced within a fortnight. “But this Betaal is going to be really different from what people have already seen. He is a character with definite progression — from a very positive to someone who has a negative streak to finally becoming a devil and then someone who is really adorable,” he explains.
Kumar says that in the current scenario when high-end graphics have become a trend, it becomes almost mandatory to give the character a special touch. “In terms of execution and presentation, it will be at par with the international superheroes. We are using indigenous technology to develop the character and make it larger than life,” he says and adds that casting for Betaal is on. “It’s a difficult task as we are looking for a handsome hunk with six-pack abs,” he concludes.
Actors Sehban Azim, Abhaas Mehta, Arhaan Behl and Shaleen Malhotra have been approached for the role. However, it has been learnt that Shaleen has declined the offer.