Karan Johar clarifies his ‘passion project’ Takht not shelved: ‘Will make it right after Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’

Filmmaker Karan Johar has clarified that he has not shelved his period drama Takht as it is a ‘piece of (his) heart’ and also explained why the project had to be delayed. Calling it his ‘passion project’, he said that he can’t let the project get away. Karan also compared it with his 2001 film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

Karan Johar had announced Takht in August 2019, and in February 2020 he had said that the film would go on floors in March. However, the film’s production halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Recently, a few reports said the film was shelved.

In an interview with Film Companion, Karan said, “No, I am going to make that movie right after Rocky Aur Rani. I can’t let that get away. That film is a piece of my heart. It’s got two and a half years of my prep work on it. Wi were rearing to go. I still remember we were starting on April 24 when the pandemic hit us in March. The film was so vast, voluminous and on a large scale, that on a daily basis, it needed a thousand people on set. It was that kind of film.”

Sharing more details about Takht, Karan Johar added, “It was an epic, period film based on the Mughal era. That again is a family film. It’s based in that era, but it is about on the interrelationships of that era, those people and those people that existed in the real world. I will always say, Rocky Aur Rani is my excitement project, but Takht is my passion project. And you cannot run away from your passion. So right after I’m done with my excitement, I’ll head towards my passion.” When asked about his previous comment on comparing Takht with Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Karan called it ‘exactly like that, updated hopefully’.

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Takht traces the relationship between Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and his brother Dara Shikoh. It features Kareena Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Janhvi Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, Vicky Kaushal and Anil Kapoor in pivotal roles.

Karan is currently directing Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. It features Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi.