The Immortal Ashwatthama To Takht, 8 Big-Budget Bollywood Films That Got Shelved

Bollywood films are shelved for many reasons, and over the years, a bunch of them have never seen the limelight.

Here are some of the big Bollywood films that have been shelved. 

Fans are extremely excited about every little detail that the makers of their highly anticipated movies reveal. It is also disappointing when the same movies are not released despite years of announcements and occasionally even after teaser releases. Films are shelved for many reasons, and over the years, a bunch of them have never seen the limelight. A few of these were grandly introduced to the audience, only to be pushed back.

Here is a roundup of some of the big Bollywood films that have been shelved. 

Takht 

Karan Johar’s much-awaited film ‘Takht’ was first announced in August 2019. The film, written by Sumit Roy and Hussain Haidry, was initially slated to release on April 24, 2020. Due to the pandemic, it got delayed. The stellar ensemble cast of the film included Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, and Bhumi Pednekar.

The Immortal Ashwatthama

Filmmaker Aditya Dhar wanted to make a film titled 'The Immortal Ashwatthama’. Reportedly, Vicky Kaushal was roped in to play the titular character. The film was in pre-production, but it was never released in theatres. Earlier this year, Aditya finally shared an update about the film. The director said, “We have put that on the back burner right now. I’ll be honest, the kind of vision we all had for that, it was too big to work for Indian cinema. The kind of VFX quality we were looking at, nobody has even strived for it here. Until the technology becomes affordable or cinema halls increase, we’ll have to wait.”

Aditya Dhar On Shelving Vicky Kaushal Starrer The Immortal Ashwatthama: “The kind of vision I had for the film is too big for the mathematics to work for Indian cinema”!https://t.co/scVmcF3mgE#adityadhar #theimmortalashwatthama #vickykaushal #article370 @AdityaDharFilms…

— Box Office Worldwide (@BOWorldwide) February 8, 2024

Jee Le Zaraa

Farhan Akhtar’s film ‘Jee Le Zaraa’ was announced back in 2021. There were rumours about lead actors Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif walking out of the project. However, recently, in an interview with News 18, Alia Bhatt, who is also part of the star cast, talked about the delay. She said, “Sometimes there is a time and place for everything, and you just have to wait for the right time to come together. But I think the intention in everybody's hearts is to make sure that this film hits the big screen, some day or another.”

Munna Bhai Chale Amerika

The third installment of the Munna Bhai MBBS franchise aimed at bringing back the hit duo Munnabhai and Circuit. The makers released an announcement trailer for the film. But due to unknown reasons, the film never happened. However, filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani teased that the film might materialise later.

Shuddhi

Another Karan Johar film, which was announced years ago, was supposed to star Kareena Kapoor Khan and Hrithik Roshan. Later, the director announced Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan as its new lead pair. But it looks like the movie, which was supposed to be helmed by Karan Malhotra, the director of Agneepath, is still on hold for the time being.

Dostana 2

‘Dostana 2’, starring Janhvi Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan, and Laksh Lalwani, was shelved abruptly. Reportedly, Kartik’s “unprofessional” behaviour led to Karan shutting down the project. Later, it was announced that the actor was no longer a part of the now-shelved movie. Speaking about the film, Janhvi told The Lallantop, “We had shot for that film for about 30 to 35 days. The shoot was going very well, according to me. I don’t know why the film was shelved.”

 

 

 

 

 

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Inshallah 

The film would have marked the reunion of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Salman Khan. The actor was roped in to star alongside Alia Bhatt in the lead. However, the film is not in the making anymore. Salman announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the film has been pushed. 

The film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali is pushed but I will still see you all on Eid, 2020. Insha-Allah!!

— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) August 25, 2019

Baiju Bawra

Another Sanjay Leela Bhansali film that was never released in theatres is Baiju Bawra. Initially, it was rumoured that Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone would play the lead roles in the film. Later, Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh were cast as the lead pair. However, there are still no announcements about the film.

On this auspicious day, we are delighted to make your Diwali happier by announcing our next endeavour♥️🙏🏻#SanjayLeelaBhansali #BaijuBawra @prerna982 #HappyDiwali pic.twitter.com/GL9VZK6nUU

— BhansaliProductions (@bhansali_produc) October 27, 2019