Movies may just be one of the only businesses where dreams are cashed in. The writer and director put a part of their soul in the film and are also ready to sell their soul to get it made. But sadly there are a number of films that don’t get made. There are some that are written and nobody agrees to make them while some that have stopped mid way during the making due to unavoidable circumstances.  Here is a list of films that were shelved in the past years.

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Chor Mandali (1983)

This film about a diamond heist was supposed to be Raj Kapoor’s last film. The film was dubbed and ready for release but was stalled by a dispute. A movie with the same name was released in 2006.

Zameen (1988)

Zameen has always been a favorite film title in our industry. This particular film was supposed to have an ensemble cast comprising of Vinod Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi with the noted Ramesh Sippy donning the director’s hat. But alas, this film didn’t see the light of day due to financial issue. It is said that the producer ran out of money when the film was nearly half done.

Devaa

Who would’ve thought that a film by Subash Ghai, a filmmaker who has given us hits like Taal, would ever hit any roadblocks? But Devaa was not destined to be made. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Devaa was a dacoit drama. They shot for a week and then some ego clashes erupted leading to the movie being shelved forever. Ghai and Bachchan have never worked together ever since.

Devdas

This epic tale of a fallen hero is a script that a lot of Indian filmmakers have picked up to re-create. But Prakash Mehra’s version never made it to the silver screen. It starred Sharmila Tagore and Hema Malini, two of the most celebrated actors of their time. The roadblock that this film faced was that Mehra was not satisfied with the existing story and wanted to create a modern version starring Amitabh Bachchan. But the producer of the film had offered it to Dharmendra. However it never lead up to anything concrete and was then shelved. This film only made it till an announcement.

Time Machine (1992)

When Back to the Future released in 1985, it managed to inspire many but only one filmmaker went ahead and made a film on it. Shekhar Kapur started making the film with Aamir Khan, Raveena Tandon and Naseeruddin Shah but they were never able to complete it due to financial problems.

Dus (1996)

This film by Mukul Anand revolved around the Indo-Pak war. The film featured Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan but could not be completed because of Mukul Anand’s premature demise. Mukul Anand died at the age of 45 due to a heart attack during the shooting of the film in Utah.

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha then made an action thriller with the same name in 2005. Co-incidentally Sanjay Dutt featured in this film too.

Mumbai Central (2004)

Mumbai Central directed by Kaizad Gustad was stopped mid-way due to the death of a crew member on the set of the film. Nadia Khan was working and cueing all the actors on Mahalaxmi station in Mumbai when a train hit her. Post the incident Gustad tried to pass it off as a road accident but a crew member revealed the truth to the police. Turns out that they didn’t even have permission to shoot on the platform. Gustad was then arrested along with his assistant directors on charges of negligence, manslaughter and fabrication of evidence. He was sentenced to prison for a month with a fine of 75,000 rupees.

Let’s Catch Veerappan (2004)

Ram Gopal Varma’s Let’s Catch Veerappan was supposed to be a black comedy and ironically it was. On the very first day of shooting Veerappan was caught, post which Varma thought that it was pointless to make the film. Word has it that Killing Veerapan a Kannada docudrama thriller on the notorious killer is being made by Varma and will be released this year.

Making films isn’t an easy business. A film, good or bad, is made after a bunch of people come together and devote their lives to it. And sometimes even that is not enough. Sometimes you need that extra luck for your film to make it to the silver screen. The only relief these filmmakers get is as per the new rule wherein the government exempts them from paying income tax if the film is left mid-way under Rule 9A according to The Central Board of Direct Taxes. This rule was only made on October 19, 2015. We hope that this rule helps upcoming filmmakers who have had to let go off of their dream projects.

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