Karan Johar’s Takht announcement left us all in awe and wonder, but it seems like the film won’t be made anytime soon.
According to Bollywood Hungama, this multi-starrer epic has been shelved. In fact, a source tells the portal:
“There are several reasons why it has happened. To begin with, it’s too costly a film. Its budget is expected to be around Rs. 250-300 crores.
Like every other producer, even Karan had to bear losses due to COVID-19.
Also, his expensive films like Brahmastra and Liger are already in production or awaiting release, along with his mid-sized ones like Shershaah, Dostana 2, Jug Jugg Jeeyo and Shakun Batra’s next.
Adding Takht to this list won’t be a good idea.”
The source adds: “Since the very beginning, no studio was on board for the film. It was believed that Fox Star Studios was backing Takht because of its partnership with Dharma.
But the fact is that Fox was never on board. Karan tried pitching Takht to other studios but his efforts proved futile.”
However, it appears that the main reason for the film being shelved is the ‘current political climate’ and a backlash the movie could face.
Furthermore, Takht is based on Mughal history. The current political climate is volatile and you never know when things can get ugly.
We all saw what happened with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat (2018). Karan felt that there’s no way he can risk taking such a project in such times as a lot of money would then be at stake.
As a result, Karan Johar has decided to shelve Takht for now. He might revive the project maybe after a couple of years.”
On a final note, the source concludes: “The managers of the actors have been informally told about this
decision. Meanwhile, Karan Johar has decided to rope in two of the actors of Takht – Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt – for a love story. It’s a space that Karan is familiar with and moreover, it’s also a safe bet.”
The multi-starrer was announced in 2018 reuniting prominent actors like:
Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Anil Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal and Bhumi Pednekar.
Well, only time will tell if Takht will ever see the light of day.
