Here’s Why Salman Khan-Alia Bhatt’s ‘In-shaa-allah’ Got Shelved

Creative differences between Salman Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali shelves In-shaa-allah just days before shoot.

Salman Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali agree to disagree.

(Photos: Twitter; modified by The Quint)

When Sanjay Leela Bhansali announced that he was joining hands with Salman Khan yet again for a film titled In-shaa-allah (as spelt by Bhansali), it was supposed to be the biggest movie event in recent times. After Alia Bhatt came on board, In-shaa-allah became the most awaited film of 2020, but now all those expectations have gone up in smoke as both the filmmaker and star have announced that In-shaa-allah is no longer in the making.

So why did a film come apart just days before the team was about to start shooting? According to reports, the satellite and digital rights of the film had already been sold and a few crores had already been spent in putting up sets of the film in a couple of studios.

Salman was reportedly happy with just the first half of the script written by Bhansali and wanted him to change the second half, especially the ending.

Salman Khan with Alia Bhatt on a TV show.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

A report in Mid-day suggests that it was irreconcilable creative differences between Salman Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali which eventually led them to parting ways just days before the first shooting schedule of their ambitious project. Apparently, Bhansali’s vision of In-shaa-allah was that it would be a larger than life love story, while Salman wanted it to be a mass entertainer which is typical of the Eid releases that he regularly has. Salman was reportedly happy with just the first half of the script written by Bhansali and wanted him to change the second half, especially the ending. The team was hoping that Bhansali and Salman would come to an understanding while the pre-production was on. However, the two seem to have agreed to disagree about the treatment of In-shaa-allah and decided to shelve the project altogether.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Salman Khan on the sets of Khamoshi. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Sanjay Leela Bhansali made his debut as a director with Khamoshi (1996), which featured Salman Khan and Manisha Koirala. Since then, Salman has been a part of Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Saawariya (2007) (in a special appearance). The two have often fallen out with each other but have then patched up. Salman was famously quoted saying, “Not even a makkhi will go to the cinemas to watch that film," when Bhansali’s film Guzaarish with Hrithik Roshan released in 2010.

In an interview to Mumbai Mirror, Salman Khan has said that he wants Bhansali to make the film that he wants to make and that nothing has changed between them as friends.

Usually when a filmmaker and an actor have differences over how a particular scene or script needs to be treated, the more successful and powerful of the two has an upper hand in the argument. In this case, both Bhansali and Salman are on top of Bollywood’s power list and they obviously did not want to give in or accommodate the other person’s point-of-view.

In an interview to Mumbai Mirror, Salman Khan has said that he wants Bhansali to make the film that he wants to make and that nothing has changed between them as friends. He also added that he is sure that nothing has changed in Bhansali’s heart for him. Besides wishing Bhansali all the best, Salman also added that he and the filmmaker would work together on a project in the future.

For now it looks like Salman Khan is readying Kick 2 to replace In-shaa-allah as his Eid 2020 release.

(Source: Mid-day, Mumbai Mirror)