EXCLUSIVE: Sohail Khan confirms that he still plans to make Sher Khan with Salman Khan: “There was a delay because of technology; while watching the Marvel films, we realized that we have to be a little ahead of the times”

By Fenil Seta -

February 20, 2024 - 12:17 PM IST

More than a decade ago, Sohail Khan planned an ambitious venture, Sher Khan, with superstar Salman Khan in the lead. It was touted as a jungle adventure with loads of VFX and entertainment. The project, however, was kept on the backburner. Since then, times have changed. People have accepted VFX-heavy films being churned out of Indian cinema like Krrish 3 (2013), Brahmastra (2022), etc. Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to Sohail Khan recently after the press conference of Mumbai Heroes about the upcoming edition of Celebrity Cricket League (CCL). In the end, we asked him about the current status of Sher Khan.

EXCLUSIVE: Sohail Khan confirms that he still plans to make Sher Khan with Salman Khan: “There was a delay because of technology; while watching the Marvel films, we realized that we have to be a little ahead of the times”

Sohail Khan explained why this film has taken time saying, “There was a delay because of technology. Technology is one thing that’s improving constantly, that too by leaps and bounds. So, while we were writing the script and while watching the Marvel films, we realized that we have to be a little ahead of the times. This is why Sher Khan has taken time. After writing the script, we realized that if we implemented the present-day technology, it might seem outdated by the time the film was released three years later. So, we have to think about what the trend is going to be in the future. That presumption took us some time.”

Sohail further said, “Once we finish the writing of Sher Khan, we’ll send the script to the animation company. We’ll see what they have to offer us as far as technology is concerned. It’s a dream project for me and I want to take my time.”

In 2014, before the release of Jai Ho, when asked during an interview with Mumbai Mirror why he didn’t go ahead with Sher Khan, Sohail Khan had said, “When we started talking with the studios, we realised that Sher Khan would need more prep before it rolled-- six to eight months on the storyboard, then a recee and so on. Meanwhile, I’d seen Stalin (2006) and though at the time I was happier producing films for directors like David Dhawan (Partner and Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya), I wanted to direct this film in Hindi. It had a social message while being paisa vasool entertainment.”

Before Dabangg 3’s (2019) release, Salman Khan told Mumbai Mirror, “That film (Sher Khan) requires a lot of visual effects. After it is shot, it will take six to eight months, almost a year, for it to be ready. After the next two-three films, Sher Khan goes on the floors. It’s beautiful.”

Also Read: SCOOP: Sohail Khan ready with Sher Khan script; restarts conversation with Salman Khan