February 2020 seems like a lifetime ago to most people. It was just four years ago (technically) but there is a whole pandemic and much more in between. For the Hindi film industry, this phase also included the #BoycottBollywood trend that came and went but caused a few casualties (shelved films) along the way.
One of them was supposed to be the biggest multi-starrer Bollywood had ever seen. Bollywood’s biggest film that had Rs 250-crore budget and seven superstars In February 2020, Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions announced the director’s ambitious project – Takht . The period drama was supposed to follow the rivalry of brothers Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh and boasted of a slam dunk cast.
Apart from Vicky Kaushal and Ranveer Singh as the two Mughals, the film also starred Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Janhvi Kapoor, and Anil Kapoor in the main roles, apart from Bhumi Pednekar. The announcement was done with a release date teaser, featuring Vicky and Ranveer’s voices. The film, which was said to be mounted on a massive Rs 250-crore budget, was slated for release on December 24, 2021.
Why Takht suffered due to #BoycottBollywood In June 2020, the sudden death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput changed the landscape of Bollywood for months to come. While the death has since been ruled a suicide, wild conspiracy theories and allegations of ostracization brought Karan Johar to the front and centre as a target of trolls. The # BoycottBollywood trend began as a backlash against nep.
