Filmmaker Karan Johar has confirmed that a collaboration between Sidharth Malhotra and director Aditya Dhar was once in the works, though the project never made it to the floors. The revelation has set off fresh speculation about a possible pairing of the actor and the filmmaker behind some of the most distinctive thrillers in recent Hindi cinema.
Speaking about the unproduced film, Johar disclosed that the project was envisioned as a Mahaveer Jain movie. According to him, the film was meant to happen and the team had discussed the idea of bringing Malhotra and Dhar together. The project, however, could not move into production, and Johar has now publicly acknowledged that it slipped through the cracks.
What Karan Johar Revealed About the Shelved Project
Johar's admission places the project in the growing list of promising collaborations that were announced or discussed but never materialised. The producer-director, who is known for backing a wide range of Hindi films, indicated that the film was attached to Mahaveer Jain as producer - a detail that gives the project a defined shape rather than leaving it as a casual conversation.
The combination of Malhotra and Dhar would have been an intriguing one on paper. Dhar has built a reputation for grounded, high-stakes narratives, while Malhotra has frequently gravitated toward action and patriotic dramas. A film uniting the two under the banner of a Mahaveer Jain production would have fit comfortably within the kind of mainstream Hindi cinema that Johar's company has often championed.
What remains unclear is how far the project actually progressed. Johar did not offer a timeline for when the talks took place, nor did he specify why the film was ultimately dropped. There is no indication of whether a script was completed, whether casting was formally locked, or whether the film was shelved before or after pre-production began. Those details have not been made public.
A Separate Project in the Works, With a Different Team
While the Malhotra-Dhar film remains unmade, Malhotra is attached to an upcoming film that has already been put together with a different crew. That project, also described as a Mahaveer Jain movie, is to be directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and will star Sreeleela alongside Malhotra. The film is a Hindi-language Bollywood production.
Santoshi's involvement gives that film a distinct identity of its own, separate from anything Dhar was developing. The veteran director is known for a body of work spanning several decades, and his pairing with Malhotra and Sreeleela marks a new combination for the Hindi film industry. Details about the film's story, genre and release plan have not been disclosed. An initial rating on the database TMDb stands at zero out of ten, which simply reflects the absence of audience votes so far rather than any assessment of quality.
Both projects share a producer in Mahaveer Jain, which explains why Johar's comments about the abandoned Malhotra-Dhar film have drawn attention to the active Santoshi directorial as well. For now, though, the two remain entirely separate ventures.
Why the News Matters for Malhotra's Slate
For Malhotra, the disclosure adds another layer to an already busy period. The actor has been building a filmography that leans heavily on larger-than-life material, and a Dhar collaboration would have been a natural extension of that trajectory. Dhar, for his part, has become one of the more closely watched directors in Hindi cinema, and any project attached to his name tends to generate curiosity well before cameras roll.
The fact that Johar chose to speak about the film at all suggests the idea held enough weight within the industry to warrant a mention, even years after it fell apart. It also raises the obvious question of whether the pairing could still be revived. Neither Johar nor Malhotra nor Dhar has indicated that the film is being reconsidered, and at present there is no confirmation that the Mahaveer Jain project will return to active development.
For audiences, the takeaway is a glimpse of a film that nearly existed. Whether the Malhotra-Dhar combination eventually finds its way to the screen through this project or another remains to be seen. Until then, the Santoshi directorial with Malhotra and Sreeleela stands as the confirmed film on the horizon, with its release details yet to be announced.
Source: Filmibeat