The troubles for superhero movie Shaktimaan seem far from over as the film continues to face challenges with production. Sony Pictures India, that has secured the rights to adapt Shaktimaan into a motion picture, initially cast Ranveer Singh as Shaktimaan and brought on Malayalam actor-director Basil Joseph, known for his work on Minnal Murali, to helm the project. But even these high-profile names are not enough to clear the roadblocks.
According to Bollywood Hungama, trade sources indicate that Sony Pictures India has struggled to mount the project. The report quoted a source saying, "Sony Pictures want to make Shaktimaan in the best possible way, but to their surprise, the digital players are not bullish on the film due to the not so good run of Ranveer Singh. They feel, he is on an all-time low and even a film like Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani did not do the business that was expected from it."
The source further added that despite the production company's conviction to cast Ranveer Singh, the market has a different perspective. "The OTT platforms have asked them to replace Ranveer Singh with Ranbir Kapoor due to his diminishing stardom. Right now, they are trying to rework the budgets, and make the film happen with Ranveer Singh," the source further added.
The project will be mounted on a budget of Rs 400 crore, making it one of the costliest films in the history of Indian cinema. This high cost means the producers are heavily dependent on securing premium deals with OTT platforms and satellite channels to mitigate financial risks. Unfortunately, these platforms currently view Ranveer Singh as a gamble due to his inconsistent box office performance. The source told Bollywood Hungama, "Sony Pictures is struggling to sell Ranveer Singh as a superhero. The film can't be made without premium OTT and satellite deals, and those deals are not possible with Ranveer at the moment. They aim to start production by the second half of 2025 and are hoping to secure better deals by then."
Earlier, Mukesh Khanna addressed the rumours of Ranveer Singh playing Shaktimaan during an interview with ABP. He said, “I have a contract with Sony International who made Spiderman. They have agreements. It took one year for them to draw these agreements. I am committed to not to talk. They hyped it so much everywhere that this one will become Shaktimaan, that one will become Shaktimaan.”
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He said that there were photos all over the internet and people assumed that Ranveer will be playing Shaktimaan. The production house didn’t refute these claims. "I messaged them asking why they didn’t refute this. They stayed silent. That’s when I realised something internally is going on. But I stood my ground and asserted that I have not decided yet whether he will play Shaktiman or not," Mukesh said.
Mukesh Khanna has previously expressed concerns about Ranveer Singh, particularly regarding his controversial magazine photoshoot.
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