Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra recently opened up about the heartbreak of his debut film, Samjhauta Express, being shut down just months before its scheduled start date. The film was set to mark the acting debut of Abhishek Bachchan and featured a highly sensitive subject matter that led to its cancellation. In an interview on Shiv Talwar’s YouTube channel, Mehra shared the story behind the unrealized project.
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra reveals Abhishek Bachchan’s shelved debut as a Pak terrorist: “Shoot was called off three months before it was supposed to start”
A Risky Subject: Abhishek Bachchan’s Role as a Pakistani Terrorist
Samjhauta Express, co-written by Mehra and Kamlesh Pandey, was intended to introduce Abhishek Bachchan to Bollywood. The film’s storyline revolved around Abhishek playing a Pakistani terrorist whose heart is filled with hate for India after his innocent father is wrongly framed as a terrorist. This character infiltrates India to free his father from jail but ends up developing an unintended bond with an Indian police officer. The emotional climax sees the police officer forced to kill Abhishek’s character, whose body is then repatriated on the Samjhauta Express.
Mehra elaborated on the film’s profound message: “Until there are these dark holes of hatred between our two nations, we will keep filling them up with the bodies of our children. But they will never get filled. The only way we can build a bridge is through love.” However, the industry deemed the subject too sensitive, especially for a debut film, leading to the project being called off three months before shooting was to begin.
Industry Backlash and Emotional Fallout
The sensitive nature of the film’s content made industry insiders wary. Mehra recalled, “The industry felt that for Abhishek Bachchan to play a Pakistani terrorist in his first film would be playing with fire, so the intelligent minds decided… The shoot was called off just three months before it was supposed to start.” In his grief over the project’s cancellation, Mehra destroyed all the research material, including the script and photos from the look test.
Ultimately, Abhishek Bachchan made his debut with JP Dutta’s Refugee. He later collaborated with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra on the film Delhi-6.
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