Atlee 'apologised' to Salman Khan for...!

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan is in the headlines for his upcoming action-packed flick Sikandar. Undeniably, the excitement among fans is escalating as the release date of Sikandar is inching closer. However, Salman Khan and Atlee's collaboration has remained the topic of discussion since the day reports surfaced. While the reports of Allu Arjun replacing Salman left many in shock, certain other reports claimed that the Atlee-Salman project was put on the back burner, not shelved. Well, a recent report claims that Atlee 'apologised' to Salman Khan.

Related Story: Allu Arjun 'replaces' Salman Khan in Atlee's ambitious period saga: Report

Atlee-Salman Project Put on Backburner for Rajinikanth!

Earlier media reports claimed that after Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan, Atlee will collaborate with Salman Khan for his ambitious two-hero period saga. Even it was reported that Thalaivar Rajinikanth will team up with Salman for Atlee's 'biggest Indian film'.

However, recently, reports have been abuzz that Rajinikanth refused to be a part of the project citing date issues. The date issues of the Jailer actor resulted in all plans of Atlee's ambitious project going for a toss.

A report by Bollywood Hungama quoted a trade source as saying, "While the Salman Khan and Atlee collaboration was already getting a nontheatrical deal of Rs 200 crore, Rajinikanth's presence would have upped the stake to Rs 275 crore as the digital and satellite of Tamil would have gone up by a huge margin."

Further, the source added, "A non-theatrical of Rs. 275 crores on a budget of Rs. 650 crores makes the risk lesser by a substantial margin.”

Why Atlee 'Apologised' to Salman Khan?

The source also revealed that as the collaboration didn't work out, Atlee met Salman a couple of days back.

The source said, "He explained all the issues to Salman Khan and the superstar was more than okay to wait for a year and team up with Atlee in 2026. He understood that the budgets warrant presence of another superstar and respected Atlee’s decision to make another film before moving on to a project with him."

The source further added, "Atlee apologised to Salman for keeping his dates blocked for a year and has promised to return in 2026."

Must Read: Rajinikanth and Salman Khan to team up in Atlee's 'biggest Indian film', not Ranveer Singh!

Moreover, the source also revealed that Atlee's meeting with Salman went off smoothly and they parted ways on a positive note. Even the Ek Tha Tiger wished Atlee all the luck for his next with Allu Arjun. The Dabangg actor also confessed to being a huge fan of the work done by Bunny in Pushpa.