While there are thousands of movies announced in a year, there are only a few that managed to reach the audience. Not only movies of lesser-known actors but also of many superstars have been shelved for different reasons. Here are 14 such popular movies of superstars and famous makers that were announced (or rumored) but were later shelved leaving many wondering what happened:
Shelved Indian Movies That Could Have Been Blockbusters
1. Dus
Starring Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon, and Shilpa Shetty, the movie was almost 40% shot before it was shelved. The movie’s director Mukul Anand’s untimely demise was the reason why the movie was shelved later. Some songs including Suno Gaur Se were later released that became overnight hits. In an interview, Mukul Anand’s brother Raahul S Anand shared that Mukul Anand had shot the climax of Dus which left Ramesh Sippy amazed.
2. Time Machine
World-renowned Indian filmmaker was expected to direct Aamir Khan, Raveena Tandon, Gulshan Grover, Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha, Amrish Puri & Vijay Anand in a time travel movie – Time Machine. As per Wikipedia, the movie was said to be based on the Hollywood hit time-travel film Back to the Future. The movie revolves around a son (Aamir Khan), who uses a time machine to travel back in time to find his parents (Naseeruddin Shah and Rekha.) Though the movie was almost complete, it ran into financial trouble. The movie was shelved because of financial constraints and Kapur’s departure to the U.S.
3. Koochie Koochie Hota Hai
Tarun, the famous maker of 2008’s Dostana, announced his animation film for Dharma Productions, Koochie Koochie Hota Hai. The movie was an animated take on Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, with humans replaced by dogs and other animals. Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukherji were expected to reprise their roles in the animated avatars. Though the makers even released a trailer, but the movie didn’t see the light of day.
4. Devaa
After delivering super successful movies like Hero & Karma, Subhash Ghai started a new project with Amitabh Bachchan. The movie titled Devaa pitted Big B against Liliput, who played the main antagonist. Along with BigB the movie also featured Shammi Kapoor & Meenakshi Sheshadri. Only after 2 weeks into the production, the film was shelved. As per various reports, Amitabh Bachchan & Subhash Ghai had a fallout because of their creative differences.
#Devaa (1987) by @SubhashGhai1, feat. @SrBachchan Shammi Kapoor and @MinaxhiSeshadri.
Music by Laxmikant Pyarelal.
The movie was eventually shelved. pic.twitter.com/Imnp7P6POI— CinemaRare (@CinemaRareIN) October 11, 2020
5. Raju Raja Ram
This multi-starrer featured Jackie Shroff, Govinda, Salman Khan & Manisha Koirala in the lead role. The movie titled Raju Raja Ram was a comedy directed by David Dhawan. The movie produced by Jackie Shroff was canceled due to the unavailability of dates.
6. Paanch
Because of Censor Board, the fully complete movie couldn’t find a proper release date. Though the dark thriller was supposed to be Anurag Kashyap’s debut, but the Censor Board had issues with endless violence in the movie. Though Anurag tried a lot the movie failed to get approval from the Censor Board. Later, Paanch got leaked online and many believed it was one of Anurag’s best movies.
7. Talisman
Based on the Indian epic Chandrakanta, Talisman starred Amitabh Bachchan and was directed by Ram Madhvani, who has been behind successful projects like Neerja & Arya. The makers also released a one & a half-minute teaser. But, later, the movie was shelved. In one of his interviews, Madhvani also shared that he has no plans of reviving the film.
8. Marudhanayagam
Labeled as Kamal Haasan’s most ambitious project, the hype around the movie was outstanding. Kamal Hassan even got Queen Elizabeth to launch the film in 1997. Based on an 18th-century real-life warrior, Mohammed Yusuf Khan, the movie was shelved as Kamal Hassan ran out of funds.
9. Munna Bhai Chale America
After the success of Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra immediately decided to work on the third installment of the franchise – Munna Bhai Chale America. The movie was supposed to be about how Munna and Circuit teach the President of America Gandhigiri! The makers even shot a trailer, but at the same time, Karar Johar announced his plan of releasing My Name is Khan. Unfortunately, KJo’s script was found to be too similar to what Hirani had in mind, so they dropped the movie.
10. Shantaram
Do you know Amitabh Bachchan & Johnny Depp were supposed to feature together in Mira Nair’s Shantaram in 2007? Due to several reasons, the drama was shelved. Later Apple TV+ revived the project & created a web series.
11. Let’s Kill Veerappan
Conceived by RGV, the movie was supposed to be directed by Chak De India fame Shimit Amin. Announced in 2004, the movie was about three friends who make a plan to capture sandalwood killer Veerappan. Months after the start of the shooting, Veerappan was killed making the plot futile and hence, the makers decided to shelve the movie!
12. Xtreme City
Back in 2011, it was rumored that Shah Rukh Khan & Leonardo DiCaprio were coming together in a movie titled Xtreme City. As per reports, Shah Rukh Khan would have been seen playing a gangster while Leo was a cop.
In an interview with PTI, Mushtaq Sheikh, the writer of the film stated, “It’s a different kind of film, one where both Indian and American protagonists are balanced human beings and the story treats them in their full complexity without either culture being diminished or taken for granted. It’s a cross-cultural thriller designed for both Bollywood and Hollywood. And if we get it right, (then) this will be an attempt at true global entertainment.” The movie never saw the light of day and later Leo’s team even denied signing any such movie.
These movies would have definitely been blockbusters. What do you think? Tell us in the comments below.