Onir Started Working on Veda 'Much Before'

New Delhi: Filmmaker Onir said that he had started preparing for his upcoming project Veda, based on William Shakespeare's Hamlet, before anyone else.

In 2014, Vishal Bhardwaj made Haider, which was also based on Hamlet.

Onir said that he had begun preparing for Veda before anyone else but since the script took some time to shape up, his movie will release next year.(Also Read: CSI Actress Wendy Glenn Makes Bollywood Debut in Onir's Hamlet)

"I had started work on it much before. It is just that my films take a long time to fall into place. I am a student of literature and I have read Hamlet and it is a fascinating tale," Onir told PTI.

The director said that there is nothing wrong in getting inspired by Shakespeare's works and cited that Romeo and Juliet is frequently adapted by Bollywood filmmakers and people still like watching such movies.

"Why not Hamlet? There are so many films in Bollywood which have been made on Romeo and Juliet. In the recent past, there were films like Ishaqzaade, Ram Leela and Issaq which were based on the tragic love story," added Onir.

The first schedule of the movie, featuring newcomers, has been shot in UK and Onir will begin work on the second schedule in Jaisalmer this December.

Onir also said that Hamlet may not be a very popular story but he is confident that Veda will find its audience.

"Not a lot of people know about Hamlet. But I think when they watch a film, they take a note of the story. My film has a good chance," he said.

Apart from Veda, Onir has two other films which will release next year- Shab and his production venture Chauranga.