The film business is quite a volatile one. The conditions that exist right now might not prevail tomorrow. Sometimes films start in a good spirit and with great expectations but that all might change later leading to film’s getting shelved. Tollywood over the years has seen some big movies in crazy combinations announced and get shelved. Let’s take a look at 10 such Tollywood movies which got shelved and never saw light.
1. Abu Baghdad Gajadonga
Starring Mega Star Chiranjeevi, this prestigious project was announced in mid-90s amidst great fanfare. This was billed to be an Indo- Hollywood film and was supposed to release in multiple languages. Suresh Krishna was to direct this action-adventure and the film generated great hype. However, the film didn’t see the light of the day to religious groups expressing objection over some character’s portrayal. Adding to it, Chiranjeevi’s busy schedule in the 90s couldn’t pack this movie.
2. Nartanasala
Another prestigious project starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, Sarath Babu, Soundarya, Sri Hari and Uday Kiran in key roles. The movie was announced amidst great fanfare in a ceremony in Hyderabad. The movie got shelved after Soundarya, who was playing the role of Draupadi passed away in a plane crash in 2004. Subsequently, the passing away of Sri Hari and Uday Kiran who were playing Bheemudu and Abhimanyudu let to lights out on this multi starrer mythological drama. Last year, around 17 minutes of footage from the movie was streamed on an OTT platform on a pay-per-view basis. This has been the only exhibition of the movie ever apart from the famous photo capturing the star cast. Balakrishna has also denied any chances of reviving the movie and said that “Some roles are meant for only some actors and nobody can replace them.”
3. Vinalani Undi
After the blockbuster outing with Choodalani Undi, it was announced that Mega Star and Chiranjeevi and Aswini Dutt will join hands again for Vinalani Undi. What made this movie even more special was that maverick director Ram Gopal Verma was announced as the director of this movie. This would have been a great feast for movie lovers as both RGV and Chiranjeevi were at their absolute peaks during this announcement. However, RGV’s Bollywood ambitions and creative differences with makers led to the shelving of this film.
4. Satyagrahi
Pawan Kalyan’s Satyagrahi is one of the most talked-about Tollywood movies that never saw the light of the day. The movie was to see Power Star and AM Rathnam joining hands after the blockbuster Kushi. It is reported that this role was extremely close to PK’s heart as he was playing the role of a rebellious student leader who fights against the system and social evils. Pawan Kalyan himself was involved in the story and screenplay of the movie and was supposed to direct this film. However, due to unknown reasons, this never saw the light of the day.
5. Premante Suluvu Kadura
Uday Kiran was one of the biggest stars at the turn of the millennium. Within a short span of time, he rose to great heights in Tollywood and was flooded with offers. However, after the initial blockbusters, there came a phase where a number of Uday Kiran films started getting shelved. Premante Suluvu Kadura was one of those Tollywood movies. This romantic movie even completed 50% of its shooting before it got cancelled. The movie backed by AM Rathnam got discontinued and could never metirialise.
6. Jab We Met Remake
Another Uday Kiran entry on the list, this untitled remake of Bollywood blockbuster had Uday Kiran reprising Shahid Kapur’s role. Trisha was signed to play Kareena Kapoor’s character in this romantic comedy. However, due to various reasons, this remake got shelved and never hit the screens. The film was remade as Kanden Kadhalai in Tamil and starred Tamannah and Bharath. It was also dubbed in Telugu.
7. Prince of Peace
It is a known fact that Pawan Kalyan experimented and tried to go for a variety of genres very early in his career. Prince of Peace was one such initiative. Pawan Kalyan was playing the role of Jesus Christ in this film directed by Singeetham Srinivas Rao. The film was planned to be shot in Jerusalem and Bethlehem and was being made on a heavy budget. This too didn’t workout and later got shelved for unknown reasons.
8. Jana Gana Mana
One of the most hyped and talked about Tollywood movies in recent years, Jana Gana Mana has been on all Mahesh Babu fans’ minds for quite some time now. This was supposed to be the hat-trick movie of Mahesh and Puri after the success of Pokiri and Businessman. Naturally, there were high expectations on this one. The movie’s hype further went multiple folds after Puri Jagannadh in 2016 tweeted a dialogue from the movie. “Strength lies in attack and not in defense,” was the Tweet which gave all a hint of the mass elements that would be packed in the film. Sadly, the film also didn’t materialize and only a tweet was left of it.
9. Mahesh Babu- Sukumar
1 Nenokkadine might not have been a huge commercial success but holds a special place in the hearts of movie lovers. Right after Sukumar’s Rangasthalam, it was reported that Super Star Mahesh Babu was approached for another film. However, the movie could not work out due to certain creative differences between Sukumar and Mahesh over the script. The duo still shares a cordial bond and both have expressed their desire to work with each other once again.
10. Merupu
This was scheduled to be Ram Charan’s next after the debacle of Orange. Dharani, who earlier directed Pawan Kalyan’s Bangaram approached the Mega Power Star with a sports-themed subject. Ram Charan was billed to play a footballer’s role in this sports action drama. Kajal Agarwal was once again roped in to play the lead opposite Charan. The movie was launched in a grand ceremony in Hyderabad but just like other movies on the list, got pushed away. Ram Charan quickly moved on from this film and worked on Racha next.
There are a number of other films that were announced and later got lost with time. We will come up with another part of this series where we’ll list out some more of these interesting projects which never worked out.
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