Karan Johar announced his most ambitious project Takht in 2018 and promised it to be a grand spectacle. The period drama boasted of a star-studded cast in the likes of Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Janhvi Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar, and Anil Kapoor which raised the anticipation bar way higher. However, now it seems like the project will never see the daylight.
The movie which was supposed to go on floors in 2020 was put on hold owing to the coronavirus pandemic. It was supposed to kick off soon but the latest developments say otherwise. According to reports, much to the dismay of fans, Takht has been shelved permanently by Karan Johar. The massive budget and the current volatile audience reaction are some of the reasons for the film to be dropped.
“Firstly, 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. Adding Takht to this list won’t be a good idea.” Bollywood Hungama quotes a source.
Adding to it, the reports also say Takht is based on Mughal history, and keeping in the mind the current political scenario, things might turn ugly just like what happened with Bhansali’s Padmaavat. KJo didn’t think it was wise to risk this massive budget in such times when a lot of money is already at stake.
Instead his grand dream project, Karan Johar has decided to venture into his forte that is love stories to play it safe. He has even reportedly roped in the Takht actors Ranveer Singh and Ali Bhatt as the leads.