We earlier reported that Kollywood actor Suriya would make his Bollywood debut with the magnum opus Karna under the direction of National Award-winning director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. The director is known for his films Rang De Basanti and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Planned as a two-part film, Karna has been in the pre-production stage for the last couple of years.
Janhvi Kapoor was supposed to play Draupadi in this flick based on the Indian epic Mahabharata. However, the latest buzz in Bollywood suggests that Karna has been shelved due to budget constraints. Initially, Excel Entertainments, headed by Farhan Akhtar, came on board to fund this project, but the word is that the production house has now backed out since Mehra quoted a jaw-dropping budget of Rs. 600 crores.
A media report mentioned, “Excel Entertainment asked Mehra to reduce the budget significantly, but the latter was not ready to compromise on his vision. Hence, the director started looking for new producers. Unfortunately, Suriya has not just now delivered a massive flop with Kanguva, which is also a big-budget film. This is why producers aren’t willing to take a huge risk with Suriya. Hence, Karna won’t be happening anymore.”
