Rana Daggubati starrer Haathi Mere Saathi release postponed from Diwali; But Thugs Of Hindostan is NOT the reason!

By Himesh Mankad -

September 23, 2018 - 8:01 AM IST

After the Baahubali Franchise, Rana Daggubati garnered a lot of popularity in the Hindi Belt and the same has resulted in producers from the industry banking big on the actor. Back in November 2017, Eros International announced their collaboration with the actor on Haathi Mere Saathi and revealed that the adventure drama will hit the big screen on Diwali 2018. The announcement grabbed a lot of eyeballs as the same resulted in a clash with Aamir Khan’s magnum opus, Thugs Of Hindostan. However sources close to the development have now confirmed that Haathi Mere Saathi would no more release during the festive period.

Rana Daggubati starrer Haathi Mere Saathi release postponed from Diwali; But Thugs Of Hindostan is NOT the reason!

“The template of the film is something on the lines of The Jungle Book as it follows the life of a man who lives with elephants in the wild. A lot of visual effects will go into bringing several animals from the wild to life, and the same is taking more than the expected time. The audience in India have been exposed to VFX of global standards and the team of Haathi Mere Saathi wants to leave no stone unturned to serve the audience with a never seen before experience. Apart from getting the jungles and wild life right using the visual effects, the film has some action and chase sequences featuring man and the wild, which is something that has not really been seen in an Indian feature film. The post-production is taking time which is the reason to push the film release,” said a source close to the development.

When asked if the movie has been pushed because of Bollywood biggie, Thugs Of Hindostan, the source reveals, “Not at all. Had that been the case, we would have pushed or advanced the release date of the film by a few days. With Haathi Mere Saathi, that’s not the case as the team is eyeing to release during summer vacation i.e. April or May 2019. An official announcement about the release date would be made in sometime, but the reason to postpone the film is only because the VFX is consuming a lot of time.”

The movie went on floors earlier this year in Thailand wherein the team shot for a marathon schedule. As a part of preparation for his character, Rana Daggubati shed 15 Kgs and also trained with 15 to 20 elephants. Apart from being an adventurous story, the movie also narrates the beautiful relationship shared by man and an elephant. While major chunk of the film have already been shot in Thailand, the makers will soon begin the last schedule of the film which would result in a wrap. An official announcement about the release date is expected to be made only after the shoot is completed. The film also stars Pulkit Samrat in a pivotal role. Although not a remake, the movie movie is a tribute to Rajesh Khanna’s classic by the same name.

Also Read: Here’s how Rana Daggubati will train with elephants for Haathi Mere Saathi