In Indian cinema, several film versions of the epic have been made, dating back to 1920. The Mahābhārata was also reinterpreted by Shyam Benegal in Kalyug.[92] Prakash Jha directed 2010 film Raajneeti was partially inspired by the Mahabharata.[93] A 2013 animated adaptation holds the record for India's most expensive animated film.[94]
In 1988, B. R. Chopra created a television series named Mahabharat. It was directed by Ravi Chopra,[95] and was televised on India's national television (Doordarshan). The same year as Mahabharat was being shown on Doordarshan, that same company's other television show, Bharat Ek Khoj, also directed by Shyam Benegal, showed a 2-episode abbreviation of the Mahabharata, drawing from various interpretations of the work, be they sung, danced, or staged. In the Western world, a well-known presentation of the epic is Peter Brook's nine-hour play, which premiered in Avignon in 1985, and its five-hour movie version The Mahābhārata (1989).[96] In the late 2013 Mahabharat was televised on STAR Plus. It was produced by Swastik Productions Pvt.
Uncompleted projects on the Mahābhārata include one by Rajkumar Santoshi,[97] and a theatrical adaptation planned by Satyajit Ray.[98]