Here’s what led Karan Johar to shelve magnum opus Takht

After the runaway success of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016), Karan Johar was set to direct Takht, a period drama set in the Mughal era. The filmmaker officially announced the project in April 2018, and also revealed Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Anil Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, and Janhvi Kapoor were onboard to play central characters.

However, Takht started facing a series of setbacks even before going on floors. Later, the news emerged that Johar had decided to put the film on the backburner. With the recent announcement of his new directorial venture Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, the much-delayed project is finally a thing of the past. The filmmaker has signed two actors from Takht – Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh – for his new directorial which is set to go before cameras soon.

So, what exactly went wrong with Takht? It is perhaps a question that everybody is seeking an answer to. A friend of Karan Johar explains why the producer-director shelved the magnum-opus and decided to go ahead with Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani instead.

“Takht made no sense in the present context. It was meant to be an expensive historical costume drama, a collaboration between Karan Johar’s Dharma Production and Fox Star (Studios). But Fox Star folded up and its replacement Disney+ Hotstar has been re-examining its long-standing relationship with Dharma Productions. Takht was no longer getting Fox Star/Disney+ Hotstar collaboration. Also, it was based on rather controversial Moghul history. Besides this, given the financial pitfalls, Karan Johar has decided to shelve Takht and do a light-hearted romantic family film,” says KJo’s friend.

Johar is known for exploring the complexities of human relationships in all his directorial ventures. Takht was completely new territory for him. We hope he does revive the project someday in future.

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