Aditya Dhar Announces Decision To Shelve Vicky Kaushal's 'The Immortal Ashwatthama': 'I Can't Make It...'

Filmmaker Aditya Dhar has finally disclosed the reason behind the shelving of his much-anticipated film, ' The Immortal Ashwatthama .' Initially announced in 2020 with Vicky Kaushal set to star, Dhar has now unveiled that the ambitious mythological superhero actioner was deemed 'too big' for the Indian cinema landscape, leading the team to recognize the logistical challenges posed by budget constraints, ultimately rendering its production 'impractical.'

“We have put that on the back burner right now. I’ll be honest, the kind of vision we all had for that, it was too big to work for Indian cinema. The kind of VFX quality we were looking at, nobody has even strived for it here,” Dhar remarked during the trailer launch of his film, 'Article 370,' on Thursday.

Aditya Dhar drew parallels with James Cameron's approach to filmmaking, citing Avatar as an example. He emphasized his willingness to wait for the right technological advancements and affordability before revisiting The Immortal Ashwatthama project. He sais, “James Cameron thought of Avatar 27 years ago, but he waited for the market to grow. The tech to come to that level where he could actually present it. I’m, of course, not him, but if we have to achieve excellence, there can’t be any mediocrity. I can’t make it for the heck of it. Even if it takes five years of my prime time, the film has to be brilliant.”

“Once a film is made, then it remains for posterity. It can’t be something mediocre. It can’t have that intent that I just want to make money. It should strive for excellence. I truly believe that as makers we have a huge responsibility of representing our country in the right way,” he further added.

The production of 'The Immortal Ashwatthama,' initially slated to commence in 2020, faced delays attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, plans for its production to kickstart in 2022 were thwarted once more, this time due to budgetary constraints.

Vicky Kaushal had expressed his disappointment regarding the repeated delays of the movie, labeling them as 'disheartening'. “There will be a better time to make that film. More than disheartening, it is that thing that any film should be made at the best time for that film. Every time the film is bigger than me or any individual attached to the film. So, we have to choose a time that justifies making that film. So, we are waiting for that time to come,” he conveyed to PTI.