In the world of cinema, not every announced project sees the light of day. Some films stall in pre-production, while others fail to progress beyond initial announcements. 2024 witnessed several high-profile projects being discreetly shelved despite official announcements and early development stages. Here, we spotlight eight such films that were quietly abandoned this year:

Salman Khan - Karan Johar’s The Bull 

Although it was never officially announced, both Salman and Karan had confirmed in media interviews that they were collaborating together on an action movie directed by Shershaah fame Vishnuvardhan. However, the project has now been put on the backburner, dashing the hopes of fans awaiting Salman and Karan’s first full-length feature film collaboration in 26 years, following Salman’s extended cameo appearance in Karan’s directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, in 1998. 

The specific reasons for halting this project have not yet been revealed, but sources familiar with the development cite several factors. “Budget was a primary concern, as the production costs greatly exceeded the initial estimates. Plus, the deteriorating India-Maldives relations pose political and controversial challenges for the project. Moreover, the film was not commercial enough for Salman, who comes with a different, larger-than-life persona on screen. Both Salman and Karan discussed all these aspects and mutually decided to shelve it and rather work on something else,” the source told us. Karan is now trying to convince Salman for Kabir Khan's action comedy, but talks have gone nowhere so far. 

Sanki 

This Sajid Nadiadwala production was supposed to mark the second film for Suniel Shetty’s son Ahan Shetty, with Pooja Hegde roped in as the leading lady. However, the film encountered significant roadblocks when Pooja exited the project just a month before production was scheduled to begin in June 2024. Persistent delays ensued, culminating in the film being shelved a few months later. Ahan has now moved on to Sunny Deol’s Border 2. 

Ranveer Singh - Prashanth Varma’s Rakshas 

Ranveer Singh’s collaboration with HanuMan director Prashanth Varma was shelved even before the announcement. The Bajirao Mastani actor’s bizarre demand proved to be too challenging for the production team, eventually leading to the quiet cancellation of what could have been one of the most exciting collaborations. Rakshas was touted to be a period film set in the Pre-Independence Era with a mythological backdrop, with Ranveer supposedly playing a character with grey shades. 

Kartik Aaryan - Dharma film 

Karan Johar and Kartik Aaryan resolved their “Dostana 2” differences to announce an action thriller last year. Sandeep Modi was on board to direct this film, scheduled for release on August 15, 2025. However, the film will not release next year as budgetary constraints have led to the official shelving of this film where Kartik was to play an army officer. This is the second Kartik Aaryan army film to not see the light of the day following Hansal Mehta’s Captain India.

Tiger Shroff’s Rambo and Hero No. 1

The desi Rambo surrendered after struggling to find its footing for seven years. Siddharth Anand and Rohit Dhawan’s ambitious action project was shelved due to budget constraints and Tiger’s declining box office appeal. Making it worse for Tiger, it was his second film to get canned after Jagan Shakti’s Hero No. 1 also saw the same fate earlier this year. The latter was a Vashu Bhagnani production that was shot for only about 10 days in two years. Tiger apparently refused to shoot for this film, eventually killing the project like it never existed. Rambo was a humongous-budgeted, ambitious action project that required shooting on a massive scale, but the studios were hesitant to invest heavily in him due to the box office fate of his last several movies. One studio was interested in the film, pinning their hopes on Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan to turn Tiger’s fortune. But the historically disastrous performance of this Vashu Bhagnani action thriller further dampened hopes for Rambo, eventually shelving it permanently.  

Ashwatthama and Karna 

Shahid Kapoor’s Ashwatthama and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Karna, starring Tamil superstar Suriya, were put on the backburner after they struggled to get the funding required to mount such massive-scale projects. While Ashwatthama’s fate was sealed right after the Bade Miyan Chote Miyan debacle that almost bankrupted its producer, Vashu Bhagnani, Mehra’s Karna found no backers once Excel Entertainment left the film after its estimated production cost spiraled out of control. 

Click Shankar 

Junglee Pictures is not moving ahead with the commercial thriller, Click Shankar. The project, which was officially announced in 2022, was put on the backburner this year after Saif Ali Khan backed out of it due to unresolved script concerns. Saif kept committing to and leaving films throughout 2024, and this was one of them, the other being exactly the next in the list. This was a spine-tingling drama that would have starred Saif in the role of a witty yet troubled inspector with hyperthymesia—a condition enabling him to recall every detail of his life, blurring the lines between past and present. Tamil filmmaker Balaji Mohan, popularly known for directing the Dhanush-starrer Maari franchise, was on board to direct it.

Saif Ali Khan - Bobby Deol film 

Priyadarshan brought on board Saif Ali Khan and Bobby Deol together for the remake of his 2016 Malayalam blockbuster, Oppum. The director announced this film in July 2024 and was supposed to begin shooting in August. However, the film never went on floors and was shelved just after a few months due to no backers. Priyadarshan has now moved on to Akshay Kumar’s horror comedy, Bhoot Bangla, while Saif and Bobby are also busy with other projects.