The look is intriguing – sherwanis and flowing stoles, a larger than life Abhishek Bachchan, engraved swords and the promise of a story packed with action, mystery and the supernormal.

But what is that story? The director of Drona, Goldie Behl, tells DT the tale. “Drona is the title that’s given to the lead character. Drona is completely human – he even has character flaws. In the movie, he learns to deal with his fears as well. Drona is the title given to the firstborn of every generation in this dynasty. It has been appointed here on earth by the gods themselves to guard a secret which, if found by evil forces, will spell doom for the planet and the universe,” he explains.

“Vir Bhadra, the first king of this palace called Pratap Garh, was chosen as the Drona of his age and the firstborn of his dynasty, to this day, is called Drona because he guards that secret. The character in the movie is called Aditya, played by Abhishek, so it’s pretty much like the Jedi and Star Wars – you have to be born a Drona.”

So was Star Wars the inspiration behind Drona, or is it something else? “The inspiration, or the idea, is that every person is born with a special task or destiny. Each one of us is born to do something, with certain capabilities and skills that belong only to us. You write well, I might direct well, there are various skills that God has given us all. This is a fictionalised, larger than life way of telling a coming-of-age tale.

It’s about how this character discovers what he is destined to become and what his superhuman powers are,” says Goldie. “The outfit in the movie is the ancestral outfit that he dons – that is what a Drona wears when he goes to war. He’s human, and that’s the whole point – there’s a representative of the human race who’s appointed by the gods to protect the secret.”

The initial approval for this grand idea came from a small source – Goldie and Abhishek’s nephews. “I must tell you, Abhishek and I first narrated the story to all the kids in our family – my nephew and Abhi’s nephew and niece – and only after the kids gave us an okay did we decide to go ahead with the movie,” he says, grinning. And this is the second time that the director is working with Abhishek – was the character written first and then Abhishek cast to play it, or was it written for the junior B? “Because of my closeness to
Abhishek and the family, I thought of the character and Abhishek at the same time. For him too, I think, it’s pretty much the same, so it happens automatically for me,” says Goldie.

There’s no sameness in the movie, though, says Goldie, explaining that it’s been shot in exotic locations in Rajasthan – Kuchaman fort, Bikaner and Sambar – and at various locations in Namibia. “In fact, there’s one location that’s never been seen before – where the desert and the ocean meets,” says Goldie.

His last movie, Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai, didn’t do too well at the Box Office, and Goldie’s putting a lot into Drona – isn’t he nervous? Apparently not. “We’ve all been honest and worked hard on it, there has been no compromise from anybody as far as efforts or money go,” says Goldie. “I genuinely believe that it will set a standard in the film industry that will be followed from here on.”