# Chandoo Mondeti denies Sanjay Leela Bhansali link for bilingual film 2026-09-30T14:11:26+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Filmmaker Chandoo Mondeti has clarified that Sanjay Leela Bhansali is not involved in his upcoming Hindi-Telugu bilingual, tentatively titled Mahakaal, starring Akshay Kumar and Rana Daggubati. 123telugu.com had reported that Bhansali would back the film under Bhansali Productions and provide the story. Speaking to telugu360.com, Mondeti confirmed that Rana Daggubati, Akshay Kumar and he are doing the film together, and that Karan Johar is producing the Hindi version. The Telugu version's production house is yet to be finalised. He said the project is in an early phase, with pre-production just beginning. Mondeti stated the story and direction are by him, and that he is in talks with Bhansali for a different story. The film is based on the history of Ujjain. ## Indian Opinion Analysis 123telugu.com reported Bhansali's involvement as fact, framing the film around that casting coup and his backing. Telugu360.com, after speaking directly to Mondeti, corrected the record: Bhansali has no connection to this project. The two outlets agree on the core casting and Karan Johar's role, but diverge sharply on Bhansali. The balanced reading is that 123telugu ran an unverified buzz, while telugu360 obtained a direct denial from the director. The project, still in pre-production, has no announced start date. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 1 neutral, 1 sensationalist - 123telugu.com (sensationalist) Led with unconfirmed Bhansali involvement as fact, framing around casting coup. - telugu360.com (neutral report) Quoted director directly to separate confirmed facts from speculation. This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Akshay Kumar, Chandoo Mondeti, Karan Johar, Mahakaal, Rana Daggubati, Sanjay Leela Bhansali Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/chandoo-mondeti-denies-sanjay-leela-bhansali-link-for-bilingual-film/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/chandoo-mondeti-denies-sanjay-leela-bhansali-link-for-bilingual-film/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/