Bollywood’s greatest movie included five star kids, a budget of Rs 250 crore, was a huge success thanks to #BoycottBollywood, and the director has since vanished

For most people, February 2020 seems like a lifetime ago. Technically speaking, it was just four years ago, but there is a pandemic and much more in between. This period of the Hindi film business also saw the emergence and eventual decline of the #BoycottBollywood movement, which resulted in a number of projects being shelved. One of them was expected to be the largest multi-starrer film ever produced in Bollywood.

Bollywood’s largest film, including seven celebrities and a budget of Rs 250 crore

Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions revealed the director’s ambitious project, Takht, in February 2020. With a cast that seemed sure to win an Oscar, the historical drama was slated to center on the rivalry between brothers Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh. In addition to Vicky Kaushal and Ranveer Singh as the two Mughals, Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Janhvi Kapoor, and Anil Kapoor played the key parts, with Bhumi Pednekar playing a supporting role. Vicky and Ranveer’s voices were used in a teaser video for the release date. The movie was supposed to be released on December 24, 2021, and it was said to have been made on an enormous budget of Rs 250 crore.

Why #BoycottBollywood caused Takht to suffer

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely death in June 2020 altered Bollywood’s scene for months to come. Despite the fact that the death has now been determined to be a suicide, trolls made Karan Johar a prominent target with their outrageous conspiracy theories and claims of exclusion. The #BoycottBollywood movement started as a protest against the industry’s nepotism but quickly evolved into a means of going after any “star kid” or “insider.” Johar unintentionally became become the face of it all. The director stayed underground for a while after quitting Twitter due to the abuse.

This had an impact on Takht output, along with the lockdowns brought on by COVID-19. The movie was never able to get back on track; the whole year of 2020 that it was scheduled to go into production was squandered. Many ‘commenters’ were also displeased with the appearance of famous kids at Takht. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, which was released in 2023 to great box office success, was directed by Karan Johar.

Will there ever be a Takht?

Karan Johar has said several times that Takht has only been postponed rather than scrapped. The filmmaker said in interviews that he plans to put Takht back on track following Rocky Aur Rani, when marketing the film in 2023. But so far, there hasn’t been much progress made in that regard. The historical epic’s future is still up in the air.