india

Updated: Dec 11, 2016 00:43 IST

National award-winning Telugu director SS Rajamouli, who recreated the imaginary city of Mahishmati in his magnum opus film Baahubali, will help the Andhra Pradesh government design its new capital Amaravati.

According to official sources, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu hit upon the idea of involving Rajamouli in finalising the designs of various buildings in tune with Telugu history and culture during a recent review meeting with the officials of the AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA).

Naidu was impressed with the designs Rajamouli finalised for the buildings of Mahishmati, the imaginary capital of King Baahubali in the sets made for his film, and questioned why such designs should not be used for some of the government buildings in Amaravati.

He immediately deputed his minister for municipal administration and urban development, P Narayana, and officials of the APCRDA to contact Rajamouli and seek his assistance. On Wednesday, the team had a lengthy discussion with the director and the latter is learnt to have agreed to help the AP government.

“Rajamouli said he was very privileged to be associated with the capital construction but said he would be able to dedicate time to the project only after he completed the ongoing work on Baahubali-2, the sequel to the first part,” an official said.

Reacting to the development, APCRDA principal secretary Ajay Jain said, “Rajamouli has extensive knowledge in history and the way he designed the sets for his film was commendable. We wanted to make use of his expertise in finalising the designs for Amaravati. The APCRDA will be in regular touch with him.”