Salman Khan's pan-India film with Jawan director Atlee put on hold after makers unable to cast second hero, says report

Salman Khan and Atlee's ambitious collaboration has reportedly been put on the backburner. The film, billed as a pan-India action entertainer, was supposed to feature Salman in a two-hero storyline with a major south star as the other lead. However, now a report states that the film has been put on hold due to scheduling conflicts. (Also read: Atlee believes this is why all his films are ‘working and making money at the box office’)

Salman Khan and Atlee's film put on hold

A Pinkvilla report quoted a source as saying, “A6 with Salman Khan was always planned as a two-hero project, and the intent was to rope in two top names from the North and South to justify the mammoth budget of ₹650 crore. While Salman Khan okayed the film, Atlee and Sun Pictures were confident to rope in either of Kamal Haasan or Rajinikanth for the film. The conversations with both the giants of Tamil Cinema continued for over 6 months, but things didn’t fall in place for multiple reasons.”

The film was originally slated to feature Kamal Haasan, but he passed it on, after which Rajinikanth was brought on board. However, the makers could not work out the Tamil superstar's dates for the shoot. “While Kamal Haasan wasn’t too sure about playing the role of Salman Khan’s father in the film, Rajinikanth is committed to shooting for Coolie and Jailer 2 until the start of 2026. He is on the verge of green-lighting another project post-Jailer 2, which means his dates are blocked till 2026. After both the conversations fell through, Atlee and Sun Pictures were looking for options all across but couldn’t find an ideal replacement for Rajinikanth or Kamal Haasan. They wanted to cast someone who can bring in big revenue from Digital and Satellite in the local language (eg. Rajinikanth / Kamal Haasan in Tamil). Still, the options of senior superstars with that market value was limited,” claimed the source.

The report also stated that the makers tried to go the international route and rope in Sylvester Stallone for the role, but the financials were a hindrance. As of now, the film has been put on hold but not shelved entirely.

Salman Khan's upcoming film

Salman Khan will next appear in Sikandar, an action entertainer directed by AR Murugadoss. The film also stars Rashmika Mandanna, Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj, Sharman Joshi, and Prateik Babbar. It is slated to be released on March 28.