In the last few years, the Hindi film industry has upped its game in terms of storytelling and pushing the boundaries.
There was a time when Bollywood was all about song and dance, however, ever since the release of Baahubali: The Beginning more filmmakers are taking inspiration from the film and announcing grand projects.
The year 2022 will see some of the biggest films coming out of Bollywood that include Brahmastra, Laal Singh Chaddha, Pathan and Tiger 3. On the other hand, there were also other films that were announced amidst massive hype but eventually got shelved for various reasons.
Take a look at 8 such popular Hindi films that were shelved:
1. Inshallah
Starring Salman Khan and Alia Bhatt in the lead role, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Inshallah’s announcement had immediately made it one of the most awaited films of all time.
The film was slated for Eid 2020 release. However, just three days before it was supposed to go on floors, Salman Khan took to Twitter to announce that it has been shelved.
He had tweeted, “The film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali is pushed but I will still see you all on Eid, 2020. Insha-Allah!!”
Later in an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Salman had stated, “Nothing changes between us as friends and I’m sure nothing has changed in Sanjay’s heart for me. I’m extremely close to his mother (Leela) and sister (Bela). I wish him all the best. He and I will still work in future on a film, Inshallah.”
Sanjay Leela Bhansali then went ahead with his leading lady Alia Bhatt and made Gangubai Kathiawadi.
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2. Chanda Mama Door Ke
Back in 2017, Sanjay Pooran Singh Chauhan’s space film Chanda Mama Door Ke was announced starring Sushant Singh Rajput and R Madhavan.
It was also reported that Nawazuddin Siddiqui too is a part of the project.
© Twitter/Taran Adarsh
For the training of the film, Sushant and Madhavan had even visited NASA. However, Nawazuddin Siddiqui was nowhere to be seen.
Later, in an interview with BollywoodLife, he had stated, “I haven't had a conversation with the makers whether I am doing the film or not! I have not been officially signed.”
The movie was supposed to go on floors by September 2017 but due to unforeseen circumstances, it couldn’t happen. A year later, Sushant walked out of the film.
His team had said in a statement to PTI, “Since there was a lot of up and down in this film, Sushant will not be able to give his dates to this project since he has his hands full with many projects.”
Earlier this year, the director had stated that he still wants to make the film and it will be a tribute to the late Sushant Singh Rajput, who passed away in 2020.
3. Crack
After working in films like Baby and Special 26, Neeraj Pandey and Akshay Kumar announced their third collaboration as director and actor - Crack.
The psychological thriller was announced in 2016 with a first look poster for an Independence Day 2017 release.
© Friday Film Works
However, later the film didn’t take off and instead, Akshay released Toilet: Ek Prem Katha on the announced date. There were rumours of a fallout between Akshay and Neeraj.
But, in a 2020 interview with Mumbai Mirror, Pandey refuted the rumours of fallout and stated, “It’s on the back-burner with no immediate plans of revival. I was not happy with the script, but if I manage to crack something good in the future, I might (revive it).”
4. Paani
Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has a long history of shelved films. The filmmaker, in the early ‘00s, had envisioned his mega-budget Paani with Hrithik Roshan in the lead.
The movie was later announced officially in 2010 at the Cannes Film Festival. And later in 2013, it was announced that now Sushant Singh Rajput has replaced Hrithik in the film and it will be backed by Yash Raj Films.
© Yash Raj Films
However, in December 2016, Shekhar Kapur tweeted that Paani is shelved.
His tweet read, “Am as devastated as u that Paani did not get made @itsSSR but I've never met an actor that worked so hard in preparing for a part as you did.”
Sushant had later responded, “I will be ever obliged to you sir for things I have learned or rather 'unlearned' because of you. Respect.”
After Sushant’s untimely demise in 2020, Shekhar stated in a tweet that if Paani is ever made, it will be his tribute to the young actor.
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5. Shuddhi
In early 2013, Karan Johar had announced Shuddhi to be directed by Karan Malhotra of Agneepath fame. It was also reported that the movie will star Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles. However, Hrithik walked out of it and Kareena too followed.
Later, reports of stars like Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone joining the film were floated but nothing materialised.
In 2015 during the release of Baahubali: The Beginning, Karan was asked about Shuddhi. He stated, “Oh my god, oh my god, I am folding my hands and bowing down to you all, stop asking me questions about Shuddhi. I don't know what kind of bad omen the movie is going through, I am not able to make it.”
6. Aankhen 2
Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Aankhen 2 was announced in 2016 at a grand event. The other star cast of the film included stars like Anil Kapoor and Arshad Warsi. It was supposed to be directed by Anees Bazmee.
© BCCL
Later, the film went through several casting changes. At one point, it was reported that it will now feature Sidharth Malhotra and Akshaye Khanna along with Big B and will be helmed by Abhinay Deo.
But, earlier this year, Deo made it clear in an interview with Spotboye that the film is shelved as Amitabh Bachchan is no longer interested in being a part of it.
7. Power
© BCCL
In 2010, Rajkumar Santoshi announced his multistarrer Power starring Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt.
The muhurat of the film also happened. But, later it couldn’t move ahead beyond the announcement stage. It was reported that date issues of its lead cast was the major reason
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8. Here Pheri 3
In 2015, Hera Pheri 3 was announced at a media event. The film was supposed to mark the return of Suniel Shetty’s Shyam and Paresh Rawal’s Babu Rao. And Akshay Kumar was replaced by John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan.
© BCCL
© BCCL
In fact, in the same year, the shoot of the film had also begun with Abhishek posting about it on social media. However, according to a TOI report, due to financial issues, the movie was shelved.
In 2016, when Abhishek was asked about Hera Pheri 3, he told IANS, “I am not going to be doing that film anymore.” When further asked about the reason, he replied, “It just didn't work out.”
There are also recent films like Karan Johar’s Takht, Aditya Dhar’s The Immortal Ashwatthama and Mahesh Mathai’s Saare Jahaan Se Achcha aka Salute, that have been put on the back burner for various reasons.
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