Shahid Kapoor's film on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has been shelved. The news was officially confirmed by director Amit Rai, of OMG 2 fame, who was supposed to helm the biopic on the Maratha warrior. Confirming the development, Rai expressed disappointment, and said that his hard work of five years has been wasted.
Shahid Kapoor's film on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj gets shelved
In an interview with Mid-day, Amit blamed the system for being "so cruel". The director said that even after proving his mettle with a Rs 180 crore film (referring to OMG 2), it’s not enough. However, he didn't reveal the reason behind the Shahid starrer getting shelved.
"How is a director supposed to work here, under these systems of casting, production, star, and management? You live with a story for five years, and within minutes, somebody writes a five-pager, pointing out what is wrong and what is right in the film," he said.
Amit Rai opens up about challenges of casting actors
Amit also spoke about the challenges of casting actors. "An actor will only do what’s working at the box office. Very few actors were honest with me. Sometimes, they weren’t interested in being part of a film that speaks the truth about society and instead wanted to do a love story. But when I took a love story to them, they said, ‘This is an expensive film, this is a period love story.’ So, the criterion kept changing. [The truth is that] they will say yes to you only once you enter their circle," he said.
In 2024, Pinkvilla reported that Telugu film producer Dil Raju would produce the film with Wakaoo Films, where Shahid would play the titular character, and Amit would be the director.
Rai has turned producer for his next. Dharma is his upcoming film with Pankaj Tripathi and Akshay Kumar had also expressed interest in it.
