This film, from one of Bollywood's leading directors, featured seven superstars and had a budget of Rs 250 crore. But it never got made
The pandemic changed a lot of things in the entertainment industry. As theatres shut, many planned projects saw the can and never saw the light of the day. Other filmmakers shelved smaller films in favour of bigger crowd-pullers. And then there was the #BoycottBollywood movement. The one film that suffered most due to all this was Karan Johar’s most ambitious project, which was to feature seven superstars but never released
1. India’s biggest film with seven superstars
)
In February 2020, barely a month before the lockdowns were put in place, Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions announced the director’s ambitious project – Takht. The period drama was to be mounted on a reported budget of Rs 250 crore and featured some of the biggest names ever
2. What was Takht about
)
While Karan Johar described Takht very cheekily as ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham in the Mughal era’, the period family drama was a fictionalised account of the power struggle between the sons of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan - Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh
3. Takht’s impressive cast
)
Vicky Kaushal and Ranveer Singh were set to star as the two brothers at war, supported by Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Janhvi Kapoor, and Anil Kapoor in the main roles, along with Bhumi Pednekar. A release date of December 24, 2021 was slated
4. How online trolls destroyed Takht
)
The death of Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020 led to a social media frenzy around nepotism and insider vs outsider. The fact that Takht had five ‘star kids’ and was helmed by Johar, who was accused of promoting nepotism, made the film an easy target for trolls
5. When Karan Johar went underground
)
The #BoycottBollywood trend began as a backlash against nepotism in the industry and soon became a tool to target him and other insiders. Irked by the harassment, the filmmaker quit Twitter and went incognito for some time
6. Will Takht ever be made?
)
The film was first delayed by the lockdowns and then the negative publicity due to the trolling. Eventually, Johar moved on to direct Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. However, as late as 2023, the director said in interviews that he intends to get Takht back on track
