Salman Khan and Atlee’s mega-budget film put on hold due to Rajinikanth’s date clash?

Recently, the news has been dominated by Salman Khan's potential partnership with Atlee. However, recent news indicates that Rajinikanth's scheduling conflicts have pushed the project to the back burner.

Mega-budget two-hero film in the works

With Sun Pictures producing, Atlee is in the midst of negotiations with Khan for a two-hero, mega-budget production. Reincarnation is supposedly at the centre of this massive historical epic that rivals Game of Thrones in scope. But now that it seems the project has been shelved, rumours abound about what would have happened next.

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This A6 starring Khan was always going to be a two-hero project, with the intention of bringing in two big personalities from the North and the South to make the massive Rs 650 crore budget seem reasonable, says an insider in the industry. The film had the superstar's blessing, but Atlee and Sun Pictures were sure they could cast Rajinikanth or Kamal Haasan instead. After more than six months of talking to the two titans of Tamil cinema, nothing came together for a variety of reasons.

Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan decline the film

While Haasan was hesitant to play Salman Khan's dad, Rajinikanth is set to film Coolie and Jailer 2 all the way into 2026, according to the source. His schedule is full till next year because he is about to approve another project after Jailer 2. After the failure of both talks, Atlee and Sun Pictures extensively searched for a suitable successor to Rajinikanth or Haasan, but found none. They were looking for a local superstar who could bring in a lot of money through digital and satellite rights, but there weren't many alternatives for senior superstars with that kind of market value.

Even an attempt at going global was made by the makers. The financials didn't work out, but talks were started with Sylvester Stallone to play the supporting role. Due to the complexity of contracts and other obstacles, the team is still researching opportunities for casting more foreign stars, which will take longer than usual. Atlee, Khan, and Sun Pictures have finally decided to work together after all these failed attempts. The source says that this is because ambitious things often take time to materialise and that some films are designed to work out only as a collaboration between the two industries, whether it's North and South or India and Hollywood.

Also, it's going to be fascinating to watch how Salman Khan and the other big names in entertainment work together on Atlee's film.

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