--- title: Stan Lee's Indian Superhero Bollywood Film Gets Director description: The comic revolved around an Indian teenager who is a technology genius canonical: https://time.com/4306185/stan-lees-indian-superhero-bollywood-film/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-25T08:56:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:59:54.342Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Stan Lee's Indian Superhero Bollywood Film Gets Director og:description: The live-action film will be directed by Vikramaditya Motwane og:url: https://time.com/4306185/stan-lees-indian-superhero-bollywood-film/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34be44a7746b690c/6988907abc6cfca7d23dcb5e/gettyimages-520755480.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: GettyImages-520755480 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stan Lee's Indian Superhero Bollywood Film Gets Director twitter:description: The live-action film will be directed by Vikramaditya Motwane twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34be44a7746b690c/6988907abc6cfca7d23dcb5e/gettyimages-520755480.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stan Lee's Indian Superhero Bollywood Film Gets Director by [Nyay Bhushan / The Hollywood Reporter](/author/the-hollywood-reporter/) ## Nyay Bhushan / The Hollywood Reporter Apr 25, 2016 8:56 AM CUT  Stan Lee attends the premiere of Marvel's 'Captain America: Civil War' on April 12, 2016 in Los Angeles, Califor. Stan Lee attends the premiere of Marvel's 'Captain America: Civil War' on April 12, 2016 in Los Angeles, Califor.Frazer Harrison—Getty Images by [Nyay Bhushan / The Hollywood Reporter](/author/the-hollywood-reporter/) ## Nyay Bhushan / The Hollywood Reporter Apr 25, 2016 8:56 AM CUT Based on the ‘Spider-Man’ creator’s first Indian superhero character Chakra, launched back in 2011, the live-action film will be directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, whose debut film screened at the Cannes festival. Stan Lee’s first Indian superhero character [launched as a comic book, _Chakra the Invincible_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stan-lee-indian-comic-chakra-invincible-275922 "undefined"), back in 2011\. In late 2013, animated TV films launched on Cartoon Network India. After [first stating in 2014](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stan-lee-discussions-his-first-739814 "undefined") that he was in talks to develop a Bollywood version of _Chakra_, the project is now greenlit with a director and studio attached. _Chakra_ was originally developed as a superhero property by Lee’s POW! Entertainment with Indian character entertainment company Graphic India. The comic revolved around an Indian teenager, Raju Rai, a technology genius living in Mumbai. Determined to use science to unlock the secrets of human potential, Raju develops a technically enhanced suit that activates the mystical chakras of the body, unleashing newfound abilities and powers. For the film version, Graphic India and POW! Entertainment have partnered with Phantom Films. The live-action film will be directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, who is one of the co-founders of Phantom along with well-known director Anurag Kashyap (_Gangs of Wasseypur_). Motwane’s 2010 debut _Udaan_ screened at the Cannes film festival. **Read More:** [_Dwayne Johnson Joins ‘Jumanji’ Reboot_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dwayne-johnson-joins-jumanji-reboot-886920 "undefined") Motwane is currently working on the _Chakra_ screenplay with Lee and Graphic India co-founder and CEO Sharad Devarajan. Phantom’s Madhu Mantena will produce the film with Devarajan and POW! Entertainment’s Gill Champion. The film version of _Chakra_, for which a budget was not given, will feature an older version of the titular character in his 20s, unlike the animated kids property. “I’m a fan of Bollywood films and am really excited about launching _Chakra the Invincible_ as my first Bollywood superhero movie,” Lee said in a statement. “Vikramaditya is an amazingly talented filmmaker who I have no doubt can make the _Chakra_ film a massive hit in India and around the world. I only hope he remembers to include my cameo!” **Read More:** [_‘Blade Runner’ Sequel Moves Up Release Date to Fall 2017_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/blade-runner-sequel-moves-up-886187 "undefined") “It’s an honor and an absolute delight to be making a film based on a Stan Lee character,” said Motwane adding, “And no, we won’t forget Stan’s cameo…” Highlighting that “Stan Lee’s characters have generated $15 billion at the global box office” and arguing that “more people likely know the face of Spider-Man than they do the Mona Lisa,” Devarajan added that in Motwane “we have been fortunate to find both a groundbreaking director and a passionate comic book fan, who will be able to create something uniquely Indian, but also authentic to Stan’s pantheon of superhero storytelling.” Three new _Chakra the Invincible_ animated TV movies are currently in production and set for release on Cartoon Network India later this year. A digital mobile series was also launched on Rovio’s ToonsTV available through the _Angry Birds_ game. **Read More:** [_Stephen King’s ‘It’ Gets a Release Date From Warner Bros._](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stephen-kings-gets-a-release-887096 "undefined") Phantom’s credits include 2014 breakout _Queen_, distributed by Viacom18 Motion Pictures. Its latest title, _Raman Raghav 2.0_, directed by Kashyap, will screen in the Cannes Director’s Fortnight section. In 2014, Phantom also inked a [multiyear partnership ](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/blumhouse-ivanhoe-indias-phantom-films-729830 "undefined")with horror franchise expert Blumhouse Productions (_Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister_) and Ivanhoe Pictures to produce local-language genre movies in India. [_This article originally appeared on Hollywoodreporter.com_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stan-lee-bollywood-chakra-film-887255 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4306185/stan-lees-indian-superhero-bollywood-film/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4306185/stan-lees-indian-superhero-bollywood-film/"},"headline":"Stan Lee's Indian Superhero Bollywood Film Gets Director","datePublished":"2016-04-25T08:56:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:59:54.342Z","description":"The comic revolved around an Indian teenager who is a technology genius","url":"https://time.com/4306185/stan-lees-indian-superhero-bollywood-film/","keywords":["movies","India","Superhero"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34be44a7746b690c/6988907abc6cfca7d23dcb5e/gettyimages-520755480.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nyay Bhushan / The Hollywood Reporter"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34be44a7746b690c/6988907abc6cfca7d23dcb5e/gettyimages-520755480.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-520755480","caption":"attends the premiere of Marvel's \"Captain America: Civil War\" at Dolby Theatre on April 12, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.","creditText":"Frazer Harrison—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4306185/stan-lees-indian-superhero-bollywood-film/","name":"Stan Lee's Indian Superhero Bollywood Film Gets Director"}}]}] ```