TIL Desk Bollywood/ Starring Hrithik Roshan and newcomer Pooja Hegde, ‘Mohenjo Daro’ is set in the ancient city of Mohenjo Daro in the era of the Indus Valley civilisation. “This was a make believe world so when I started my research, during the initial phase, I came across Jonathan Mark Kenoyer’s books ‘Ancient India: Land of Mystery’ and ‘Excavations at Mohenjo Daro’. I immediately got in touch with Kenoyer, Dept of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, to seek his assistance,” Gowariker said in a statement.
In order to create the perfect world of Mohenjo Daro, Ashutosh Gowariker got in touch with several archaeologists. “He has worked at the Mohenjo Daro excavation site for the past 35 years. To my good fortune, he agreed to help me realise the true potential of the story on film,” he said. The ‘Jodha Akbar’ helmer said he was then suggested names of various individuals who could give him “inputs on the undeciphered Sindhu script, culture, the town planning and any and every other aspect” surrounding the era.
Gowariker shot the film in Bhuj, Kutch and had to keep in mind certain facts to give authenticity to the film. The 52-year-old director shared instances like how the architecture was basic, with the tallest house in Mohenjo Daro just two-storey tall, and since there was no iron used, all the tools, implements and weapons were made of flint stone. The filmmaker said even though gold was just discovered in that era, precious stones like Carnelian beads, Steatite beads, and many other river stones were used in ornamentation.
He said another thing they kept in mind was that there was barter system in the era and there was no currency of any kind. ‘Mohenjo Daro’ is set to release on August 12.
