More than a decade ago in 2012, the jungle-adventure film Sher Khan starring Salman Khan and Kapil Sharma was announced. It was touted to be a VFX-heavy action extravaganza that would see Salman as a lion-hearted He-Man. If reports were to be believed, the film was postponed indefinitely due to VFX-related reasons. It was supposed to be produced and directed by Sohail Khan, who had earlier directed Salman in Auzaar, Pyaar Kiya toh Darna Kya, Hello Brother, and Jai Ho.
But now it seems like Sohail is set to revive the project. At a recent promotional event of Celebrity Cricket League season 10, he exclusively spoke to News18 Showsha about bouncing back to larger-than-life Hindi cinema with Sher Khan and further revealed that he’s planning on taking it to floors in 2025.
Talking about why he had to put the film on the backburner back in the day, he said, ”That’s (VFX) one area where technology is growing by bounds. Every time we would finish the scripting of Sher Khan, I would watch another Marvel film, and that used to make me feel backdated in terms of what I’ve written and how I want the action to be. I knew that by the time the film comes out, it would look backdated.”
Over time, Sohail managed to crack the formula behind Hollywood superhero films and fantasy action adventures striking a chord with the audience and working wonders at the box office. “That fear of thinking about creating something that would be released three years later is something I needed to tame. I realised that I’ve to think of something that’s the future and not the present. That’s exactly where Marvel and DC films score,” he stated.
The Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya and Tubelight actor continued, “They pre-empt what’s going to happen. Our action is more human, so when we go into technology-based action, there’s a slack. We think of the present times while the rest of the world keeps moving on.” He also went on to reveal that he will be resuming work on his long-pending rom-com, My Punjabi Nikah – which was to star Aayush Sharma, as per reports – this year.
When quizzed about what kept him away from films – both acting and direction – in the last few years, Sohail candidly shared, “It was my intent. I wasn’t really getting happy with the work I was getting as an actor. There were stories that I wanted to tell and I went out there to get the appropriate technicians or actors to cast.”
For the 53-year-old, waiting felt better than succumbing to mediocrity. “I put so much thought into something and I wanted the most apt people to come together. Unfortunately, things didn’t gel well. Fortunately, however, god has been kind to me in terms of finances. Hence, there wasn’t any desperation to just do any kind of work. I just waited it out,” he added.
