Vicky Kaushal Starrer 'Ashwatthama' Put On Hold After Crossing Rs 300 Crores Even Before Shooting A Scene!

According to reports, the next few months will be spent on the script and meetings with visual effect teams to work on the budget front for the film.

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 1 September 2021 11:54 am

The upcoming sci-fi project 'The Immportal Ashwatthama’ starring Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan has been put on hold, since the cost of the production of the movie has crossed its allocated budget of Rs 300 crores. Producer Ronnie Screwvala released a statement stating that the the film’s shoot has been put on hold for another “six to nine” months.

“In the last draft of the script, the ambition of the movie and the budget did not match and the overall uncertainty fuelled by COVID, did not help. So all of us – Aditya (Dhar), Vicky (Kaushal) and I – decided that we need to put this back for another six to nine months,” Screwvala said in a statement.

“Sara (Ali Khan), also agreed. We will have to work more on the budget and circle back when things look better overall for the magnum opus which Ashwathama is being planned as,” he added.

According to reports, film’s director Aditya Dhar wants to make a global project, which is the reason why the cost has overshot the originally allocated budget.

“Ashwatthama was planned to be a sci-fi film with a superhero spin in the narrative. The makers had planned to bring the epic character of Ashwathama from Mahabharata in a futuristic world,” a source close to the film was quoted as saying.

“The team started the pre-production work and also discussions with multiple visual effect studios from the west to transport the vision to spectacle. As time passed by, the makers realized that the budget puts too much pressure on the film to deliver at the box-office. The estimated budget, even before a single scene was shot, came in the range of Rs 300 crore. Hence, they all mutually decided to rework on the same and take the film on floors when the box office scenario looks better,” the source added.

The next few months will be spent on the script and meetings with visual effect teams to work on the budget front. Once the plan is in place, the team will move onto the stage of deciding on the shoot schedule with all the actors. Apart from Vicky and Sara, Suniel Shetty and Jaideep Ahlawat are also expected to be a part of this magnum opus.

(With Inputs from Pinkvilla)