Why was Shah Rukh Khan starrer Shikhar shelved? Director Subhash Ghai reveals

Veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai is known for delivering several iconic projects to the industry. His evergreen projects are loved by the audience even today. In a long career span, the Pardes director has collaborated with several big superstars of the country. Amid several super hit films in the 90s, the director had once announced a film titled Shikhar along with Shah Rukh Khan. However, the film couldn’t see the light of the day. In a recent interview, the director spilled beans on the same.

Subhash Ghai reveals why Shah Rukh Khan & Jackie Shroff starrer Shikhar got shelved

In the 1990s, the Taal director announced his ambitious film, Shikhar, with actors Shah Rukh Khan and Jackie Shroff. The Mahurat of the movie was held in Haryana with great excitement but the film couldn’t further get through. 

In a recent interview with ANI, the veteran filmmaker took a trip down memory lane and revealed that Shikhar had a war backdrop. Opening up about the reason why Shikhar was shelved, Ghai revealed, “We had done our mahurat and even recorded a few songs for it. However, we had to shelve the film due to budgetary issues incurred after Trimurti failure….so we thought of making a small film and eventually Pardes happened.”

After Shikhar, Subhash Ghai treated fans with Pardes

After Shikhar was deferred, Ghai then treated fans with his 1997 release, Pardes with none other than the king of hearts, Shah Rukh Khan, and debutant Mahima Chaudhary in the lead role. Khan was seen in the role of Arjun, a man who settled abroad but still believes in the cultural values of his country. The film revolved around the idea of values in the Indian and Western cultures. 

Eventually, Pardes turned out to be a blockbuster hit and became a classic. It wasn’t just the story, but even the songs from Pardes such as Yeh Dil Deewana and Meri Mehbooba made the movie an evergreen film of Bollywood. In fact, the music launch of the film was attended by the late politician and former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihar Vajpayee.

Pardes was released in theatres on August 8, 1997. 

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