Why Karan Johar Takht movie was shelved: Why was Karan Johar’s ambitious film ‘Takht’ shelved? Did Covid and the dates of the star cast become the biggest reasons? Why couldn’t this 250 crore film with many big stars including Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Alia Bhatt be made? Mahir Pandhi reveals his inner secrets, was his biggest dream project broken?
Karan Johar’s Ranveer Singh starrer much talked about and expensive historical film ‘Takht’ has joined the unmade films of Bollywood, which was once dreamed of with the biggest star cast. This film starring stars like Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt was supposed to go on the floors in 2020, but was never made. Actor Mahir Pandhi has now revealed the reasons why this project got shelved. This mega project was stopped due to the Covid pandemic and problems related to the dates of the stars.
Why did Karan Johar’s ‘Takht’ remain in production?
The film ‘Takht’ was considered to be Karan Johar’s dream project, which was to be made as a grand historical drama. But now this film has become just an unmade project. Actor Mahir Pandhi told in an interview to Mid Day that it had become almost impossible to bring together the dates of such a big star cast. The COVID-19 pandemic made the situation even more difficult. He said that even if this film is made today, it will have to be completely rewritten because the thinking of the audience has changed.
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‘Takht’ starcast and pressure of mega budget
‘Takht’ featured many big names of Bollywood including Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Anil Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar and Janhvi Kapoor. In the film, Anil Kapoor was to be shown in the role of Shahjahan, Ranveer Singh in the role of Dara Shikoh and Vicky Kaushal in the role of Aurangzeb. The film, with a budget of around Rs 250 crore, was announced on August 8, 2018, was to be shot in 2020 and was reportedly planned to be released on December 24, 2021, but the project could not move forward. If this film had been made, it would have been the most expensive film in the career of not only Ranveer Singh but every actor doing it. Not only this, it could have proved to be the most expensive film of Bollywood and the entire country at that time.
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Covid and stars’ dates became the biggest hurdle
Mahir Pandhi said that after Covid it had become impossible to bring the entire project together. “It was very difficult to bring together so many artists. It became even more difficult after Covid,” he says. According to him, this project gradually cooled down and was finally stopped.
What was the story and concept of ‘Takht’?
‘Takht’ was based on the last phase of the Mughal Empire, where the power struggle after Shahjahan was to be shown. The main basis of the story was the fight for the throne between Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb. Karan Johar called it “Madhyakaal Mein Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham”, which created a lot of discussion and controversy. Mahir Pandhi told that this project was like a dream for him. He was included in parties and meetings, which made him feel like he was a part of the film. But when the film closed, it was very difficult for him to accept it.