Every year filmmakers announce numerous Bollywood movies. Lots of movies never make it past the pre-production stages. We might get excited after the announcement of every big Bollywood project but there is always a risk that the film in making might get struck last minute and never hit the silver screen. Whether it’s by failure to secure financing or mysterious delays, some movies are just destined to remain as pipe dreams. Here is a list of films that were announced but never got released for some reason or the other.
Dus: It was conceptualized to be a very big action film starring Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan by director Mukul Anand in 1997. The two actors played the roles of two Indian secret agents who were on the field to prevent an Indo-Pak war. However, in the midst of the shooting schedule, Anand passed away. To date, this film remains incomplete and unreleased.
Munna Bhai Chale Amerika: After Munna Bhai’s (Sanjay Dutt) short-lived tryst with the law in Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani released a trailer for Munna Bhai Chale Amerika in 2007. The plot revolved around Munna Bhai and Circuit (Arshad Warsi) taking a trip to the States. But too much happened too fast after the release of this trailer. Sanjay served a jail sentence and both makers were not happy with the script of the third part. The project was thus shelved.
Shuddhi: Karan Johar’s project Shuddhi became almost infamous with its various casting changes and rumours of cancellation. Initially, reports suggested that the film was supposed to star Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor Khan, but later on Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s name cropped up. Finally, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt were touted to star in the project, but after that, there has been no update on the film. While there is still some hope, the fate of Shuddhi still remains a big mystery.
Shoebite: Almost a decade ago, Amitabh Bachchan was approached by Percept Picture Company to act in a film directed by Shoojit Sircar. Called Johnny Walker back then, the film never saw the light of the day. Sircar then sold the film rights to UTV Motion Pictures and renamed it Shoebite. Unfortunately, what stalled it was a huge legal battle between the two media houses, in the middle of this chaos, Shoebite, although complete, has still not been given a go-ahead.
Paani: Shekhar Kapur’s Paani was shelved, which was to star the late Sushant Singh Rajput. Word is that it was going way over budget and the script was just not coming together, after which, YRF, the producers backed out.
Inshallah: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Inshallah was supposed to bring Salman Khan and Alia Bhatt together on screen for the first time. The movie was slated for an Eid 2020 release. However, just three days before the film went on floor, Salman tweeted that the film has been pushed ahead indefinitely. Although there were reports of a fallout between Salman and Bhansali, there was no official confirmation on why the film got shelved. While SLB went ahead and made ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ with Alia, Salman announced ‘Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali’ with Pooja Hegde.
Battle of Saragarhi: Randeep Hooda’s movie on the Battle of Saragarhi was announced even before Akshay Kumar’s Kesari, and he had prepped intensely for the role, but the film got shelved and post Kesari, nothing has been heard about it.
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