The immortal Ashwatthama and other big budget Bollywood films that were shelved

Fans are extremely excited about every little detail revealed by the makers of their much-awaited films. It is also disappointing when the same films are not released despite years of announcements and sometimes even after the teasers are released. Films are shelved for many reasons and over the years, a number of them have never been given the limelight. A few of them have been presented to the audience with great fanfare, only to be pushed back.

Here's a look at some of the big Bollywood movies that got shelved.

Takht

Karan Johar's highly anticipated film 'Takht' was first announced in August 2019. The film, written by Sumit Roy and Hussain Haidry, was initially scheduled to release on April 24, 2020. Due to the pandemic, its release was delayed. The film's star cast included Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal and Bhumi Pednekar.

The Immortal Ashwatthama

Director Aditya Dhar wanted to make a film titled 'The Immortal Ashwatthama'. According to reports, Vicky Kaushal was roped in to play the lead character. The film was in pre-production but never released in theatres. Earlier this year, Aditya finally shared an update on the film. The director said, “We have put it on the back burner for now. I'll be honest, the kind of vision we all had for it, it was too big to work for Indian cinema. The kind of VFX quality that we were looking for, no one even tried to get it here. Till the technology becomes affordable or theatres increase, we will have to wait.”

Aditya Dhar on Dropping The Immortal Ashwatthama, Starring Vicky Kaushal: 'The Vision I Had For The Film Is Too Big For Math To Work For Indian Cinema'!https://t.co/scVmcF3mgE#adityadhar #theimmortalashwatthama #vickykaushal #article370 @AdityaDharFilms…

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

Jee Le Zara

Farhan Akhtar's film 'Jee Le Zaraa' was announced in 2021. Rumours were doing the rounds about lead actresses Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif opting out of the project. However, recently, in an interview with News 18, Alia Bhatt, who is also a part of the star cast, spoke about the postponement. She said, “Sometimes there is a time and place for everything, and you just have to wait for the right time for everything to work out. But I think everyone's intention is to make sure that this film hits the big screen, eventually.”

Munna Bhai goes to America

The third installment of the Munna Bhai MBBS franchise aimed to bring back the hit duo Munnabhai and Circuit. The makers released a trailer for the film. But due to unknown reasons, the film never happened. However, filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani hinted that the film might come to fruition later.

purity

Another Karan Johar film, which was announced a few years ago, was to have Kareena Kapoor Khan and Hrithik Roshan as the lead actors. Later, the director announced that Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan would be the new leads. But it seems that the film, which was to be directed by Agneepath director Karan Malhotra, is still on hold for now.

Friendly 2

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

Inch'Allah

The film was supposed to mark the reunion of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Salman Khan. The actor was roped in to star opposite Alia Bhatt in the lead role. However, the film is no longer in the works. Salman announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the film has been postponed.

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

– Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) August 25, 2019

Baiju Bawra

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

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

— BhansaliProductions (@bhansali_produc) October 27, 2019