Anand Gandhi, Zain Menon call ‘Maya’ the world’s new mythology, not India’s MCU, share insights of working with Hugo Weaving

Anand Gandhi is not creating India's MCU with Maya

Filmmaker Anand Gandhi, known for making movies like Ship of Theseus (2013) and Tumbbad (2018), returns with Maya, a vast sci-fi fantasy universe he co-created with designer Zain Menon, his most ambitious endeavour to date.

Hugo Weaving's novel MAYA: Seed Takes Root, which debuted on Kickstarter, is the universe's first project.

The universe has started as a multi-format, interconnected narrative and explores concepts of truth, control, and human potential in the twenty-first century by fusing movies, stories, games, and immersive experiences.

Meanwhile, in a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Anand and Zain discussed the inspiration behind Maya, their partnership with Hollywood actor Hugo Weaving, the difficulties in creating such a vast world, and whether or not this could be India's version of the MCU.

Actor Hugo Weaving has been a source of admiration for the pair for decades.

Talking about Hugo Weaving, Anand revealed, “We grew up on his work. Zain was eight, I was eighteen when we first watched The Matrix. No film before that had built such a vast canvas of ideas—cognition, perception, sexuality, technology, and capitalism. And Hugo became the vessel of that moment. The world had never seen a performance like Agent Smith.”

He continued, “They went ahead and made Matrix Reloaded, but they also made Vendetta with Hugo, and before that, we saw Hugo in Lord of the Rings in a completely different set of roles.”

The filmmaker further elaborated, “All these amazing mythologies of the 2000s became so formative for me, so it was always a dream to make something of that scale and have Hugo in it. So when I was on the Sydney Film Festival jury, Hugo and I met, and instantly hit it off. After watching Ship of Theseus, he told me he wanted to spend time talking about the film.”

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“Everything in the city was shut, but one bar opened just because Hugo walked in. We sat from midnight to 7 a.m. and we both fell in love with each other’s minds, craft and art. At that moment, I knew that whatever I did next, he’d have to be a part of it,” added Anand.

Many fans started drawing comparisons between the trailer and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as soon as it was released. Anand, however, disapproved of the comparison.

He said, “I don’t think Maya is India’s MCU; it’s the world’s new mythology. MCU is fun and games, and while it was charming, it doesn’t have the scope of Maya. Maya, in its scope, hopes to engage with questions that MCU may or may not have engaged with.”

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Anand added, “So we would like Maya to be vaster, deeper, and hopefully resonate with the curiosity of the generation like the MCU has. But we definitely do hope that Maya can be an upgrade of previous mythologies, including MCU and not a replication.”