In April 2014, reports indicated that director Shekhar Kapoor was finally ready to begin work on his long-awaited future film ‘Paani’, a project that had been stuck in development for over a decade. At the time, Sushant Singh Rajput had replaced Hrithik Roshan as the lead hero, raising hopes that the ambitious film, set in the dystopian year 2050 as the world grapples with a severe water crisis, would soon enter production.
However, nearly 12 years later, and more than five years after Sushant’s death, the film is still yet to be made.Kapoor recently opened up about the project and shed light on why
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He eventually walked away from the film. He revealed in a conversation that production stopped before it started.“I couldn’t even begin production of Paani (unlike some of Kapoor’s other films which were shelved midway). By the time YRF decided not to cast Sushant, I had already been training with him for six months.
After hearing their decision, I returned west. I came to India just to do builder. However, I did not give up on the project,” he said in an interview with The Lallantop. Kapoor also recalled a conversation with
Aditya Chopra
president of YRF, explaining how their creative arrangement ultimately led to the film being dropped by the studio.“The agreement I had with Aditya Chopra (head of YRF) was that he would take control of the business while I would take creative control of the film.
Then one day, he called me for breakfast and said, “Shekhar, what I saw at YRF is that if I don’t stand behind the director all the time, things don’t go well and the film doesn’t come out well.” So it became my habit. But I can’t stand behind you like this. He was right, because our agreement was that we would make my film.
“I probably won’t be able to do it,” he said. “We therefore decided that YRF would not move forward with the project.”Kapoor explained that the decision was not a result of any conflict, but rather a natural difference in creative styles between two established filmmakers.“It’s a simple matter. Since we couldn’t stay together creatively, it was decided that YRF wouldn’t work. That’s how Bunny came to a dead end. But I didn’t give up on him completely.”Talking about Sushant, who died in 2020 at his home in Mumbai, Kapoor said that he was in Bhimtal in Uttarakhand when he heard the tragic news.
The director described the late actor as deeply committed to his craft, although he admitted that he did not know him well on a personal level.“He was so obsessed with the role. I didn’t notice anything different about him. He was an obsessive actor. As a director, that’s what I needed. I didn’t notice anything else abnormal about him. It might also be because I didn’t know him personally.”