Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and Kamal Haasan in Khabardaar (1984): Shelved Film from the 80s

All the acting powerhouses and superstars of that era together in one movie? What a film this could have been! Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Sridevi and Jaya Prada in the shelved but lavishly launched film, Khabardaar. Alas, the movie was never completed after a roaring launch in 1984. But we have an archive of images and stills of the movie here. 

Grok tried to amend and restore this rarely seen newspaper scan from way back when... Alas, it didn't do a brilliant job on AB Snr! More success with Sri and Kamal Haasan... 

Anupam Kher, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and film producer/director Ramesh Sippy of Ram ki Sita, Shyam ki Gita

 

Anupam Kher, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and film producer/director Ramesh Sippy of Ram ki Sita, Shyam ki Gita. Alas this double/double role--Sridevi and Amitabh Bachchan x 2--case of mistaken identity and mishaps never went beyond the launch. 

What a film it could have been! Directed by Ramesh 'Sholay' Sippy no less... 

Coulda woulda shoulda... 

Archive with more info, images and even a clip in the archive here.

Sridevi's first film with Sanjay Dutt wasn't Gumrah or Khuda Gawah: It was this 1984 flick + 10 Shelved Films of Sridevi!

Its almost comical how many films are launched in Bollywood that fail to take off beyond announcement and hype. Here's another one to add to the long, long list; Yeh Kaisa Milan! 

A never-made/unreleased Bollywood film from the mid-1980s (announced around 1983–84, with a planned release in January 1984 according to the poster!). 

With Producer: S.R. Productions (Madras), under the banner Godha, the main cast was supposed to have Sridevi, Sunil Dutt's son Sanjay Dutt and Raj Kapoor's youngest song Rajeev Kapoor! With director/screenplay writer S.A. Chandrashekhar, the film had maestros Laxmikant–Pyarelal for music, (common for many Sridevi films of that era). Thankfully... the movie was never made. S.A. Chandrashekhar might have made many successful Tamil films, but his Hindi films have all been pretty much awful; Jeevan Ki Shatranj (1993) - a remake of the Tamil film Rajanadai and Azaad Desh Ke Gulam (1993) - a remake of the Tamil film Sudhanthira Naattin Adimaigal come to mind!). 

The Hindi film was promoted as a big multi-starrer with "Star Pairing of the Year" hype. This was during Sridevi's peak commercial phase in Hindi cinema (post-Himmatwala, Tohfa, Mawaali, etc.), when she was frequently paired with top heroes - so these relative newcomers (and OG nepo babies!) seems like a surprise. The film was ultimately shelved and never completed or released - we don't know exactly what went down, hence it doesn't appear in standard filmographies, IMDb lists, or Wikipedia entries for Sridevi, Sanjay Dutt, or Rajeev Kapoor. There are several false-start or failed to finish movies in Sridevi's archive (in all Indian celebrities' in fact). 

Old posters and announcements like this one occasionally surface on Instagram/Facebook fan pages (especially Sridevi tribute accounts), but there's no finished movie, songs, or features on many. There's a lot written about Garajna, Zameen, Sridevi's Telugu home production... and so on but on this film, we've found very little. 

Sridevi and Sanjay Dutt actually did collaborate later (their only film together was the 1993 Mahesh Bhatt-directed, Yash Johar produced Gumrah, and a brief shoot during Khuda Gawah), but this earlier project fell through.  

If you're a Sridevi fan, these "lost" posters are fun collector items from the era when she was dominating the industry with multiple releases per year. The hodge podge poster with cut outs from other films (I mean look at the image of Sanjay Dutt, and the Sridevi pic from her Tamil film Adutha Varisu, and Rajeev from another movie as well - the trio didn't even do a shoot together!). 

Sridevi in the film Zameen

Sridevi's list of shelved films;

1. Garajna
2. Teerandaz
3. Bodyguard
4. Zameen
5. Raasta
6. Maharaja
7. Ram ki Sita, Shyam ki Geeta
8. Bus Conductor 
9. Govinda
10. Khabardaar

Raasta: The Shelved film of Sridevi with Dilip Kumar, Mithun

Raasta: The Shelved film of Sridevi with Dilip Kumar, Mithun

"Releasing in March 1988" reads the poster - and we know, well, that didn't happen!! It's sort of amazing how many films are launched with great fanfare and it all fizzles out. Would have been amazing to see Sridevi with Dilip Kumar. 

We've written about the film before here - Social Media dug out this rarely seen poster. 

Sridevi gets wiggy with it: A look for a spy film from 1984!

Sridevi gets wiggy with it: A look for a spy film from 1984 titled Raasta!

The film was supposed to have Mithun as a spy and Sridevi as the babe in the movie... But the film was never made and never went beyond discussions in media and a look test/shoot. We have a dozen pics of this look in the archive.  

Rare Pic: Sridevi wearing glasses in the film Maharaja

Sridevi wearing glasses on the sets of shelved film Maharaja (1990). One of the early 90s projects Sridevi worked on--briefly--was the film Maharaja with Anil Kapoor. For unknown reasons, filming was interrupted and the project was stalled -- never to be completed or see the light of day. 

A few years later, in 1998, director Anil Sharma (of Gaddar fame) was able to revive the idea of ​​the film Maharaja with Govinda and Manisha Koirala. The film did decent business but was no great shakes by any measure. Currently of course, Manisha Koirala is basking in the glow of success of Heeramandi on Netflix, the actress truly shines and reminds the audience of her prowess. Govinda remains waiting for a project worthy of his finite gifts.   

 

Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor in Garajna (1987)

Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor in Garajna (1987)

Even if its awful, now..... in the wake of the passing of all of its leads.... there are several hardcore fans of Sridevi, Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna who'd like to have a quick look at Garajna. 

A film that started shooting in 1987 and never saw the light of day despite completion. A long complicated history that we've written about several times - scroll back in the archives - whenever we find rare images of Sridevi from the film we get nostalgic...  

Above: Rare clip of Sridevi with Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna in some of the songs shot for Garajna

Gorgeous Sridevi in the Ramesh Sippy film Zameen (1987)

Sridevi dancing away on the sets of Zameen - pity the Ramesh Sippy film was never completed. 

Launched with great fanfare back in 1987, the ambitious project stopped midway. But imagine, a movie with Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt, Rajinikanth, Vinod Khanna and others, helmed by Rames "Sholay" Sippy... 

Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi in Zameen: The only film the two actresses worked in together!

Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi on the sets of Zameen (1987) - the only film they would have appeared in together as leading ladies.

For years, YEARS, we've been looking for clear images of the two actress on the sets of the film.

The movie - directed by Ramesh 'Sholay' Sippy no less - was shelved for... whatever reason. A huge chunk of the film was shot - reels of which are somewhere in Mumbai's archives. One day, hope someone digs out something for a show...  

The movie had a massive all-star cast including Vinod Khanna, Rajinikanth and Sanjay Dutt!  

• Archive of images from the film here.
• Sridevi with Madhuri Dixit over the years here.
• Sridevi with Ramesh Sippy here.
• Sridevi with Vinod Khanna here.

Rare Pic: Anupam Kher, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and Ramesh Sippy

Rare pic: Anupam Kher, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and Ramesh Sippy at the mahurat of (the now shelved film) Ram ki Sita, Shyam ki Geeta. 

This rollicking comedy with the man who made Sholay no less, could have been incredible! Alas, the movie went no further than the initial launch. No idea what happened back in the early 90s, post this mega mahurat! 

Ramesh Sippy and Sridevi combo seemed to have been jinxed; their first collaboration Zameen (also with a stellar mega cast) never completed. It just wasn't written in the (super-) stars I guess.... 

Sridevi and Vinod Khanna in Garajna

Sridevi and Vinod Khanna in Garajna 

One of many shelved Bollywood films! The film started production in 1987 - and the film was due for release circa 1991 - but never hit the screens. 

Sridevi and Mithun in the unreleased Raasta (1986)

Launched in 1986, Raasta was meant to have Mithun and Sridevi in the lead. But the film, after its launch and pre-publicity stills, was never made. For reasons unknown.

Yet another film to add to the long list of shelved and unreleased films. We imagine there's some vault with reams of incomplete films somewhere. In many cases, movies were launched with great fanfare (click on the links below!) but most never even started production. Bollywood in the 1980s was disorganised-chaos, led by the lets-make-a-deal-era that never went anywhere. Long before corporatisation, organisation and insurance and legal consequence - the government didn't recognise it as an industry until recentally - which is ridiculous. 

As an avid collection of film magazines from the 1980s and 90s, we have so many stills of mega projects launched... but never saw the light of day. Eg:

click to enlarge

A list of Sridevi's incomplete and/or unreleased films:
Garajna

Partially shot:
Khabardaar
Zameen

Launched but never started;
Ram ki Sita Shyam ki Geeta
Teerandaz
Bus Conductor
Govinda
Raasta


PS: If you know of other films, esp with info and images, pls drop us a note to add to the above. 

Left: Sridevi and Anil Kapoor on the sets of... unknown film... 

Sridevi's look test for the (shelved) film Bus Conductor: Early 90s in Bollywood

Sridevi's promo shots for the film Bus Conductor - a film that was eventually shelved. The film had a grand mahurat with Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher and the film's director Satish Kaushik, soon after the success of Laadla in mid 1994. But this, like other projects of that era, never took off beyond a lavish launch.

Rishi Kapoor and Sridevi in Garajna

Rishi Kapoor and Sridevi in Garajna 

Rare pics from a film that never released. 

click to enlarge

Sridevi at the mahurat of Teerandaz: Rare pics with Sunny Deol, Gulzar, Yash Chopra,

Sridevi at the mahurat (launch) of Teerandaz. With the cast and crew plus VIP guest, director Yash Chopra who came by to give the clap/first take of the film that sadly ended up being shelved.

Legend has it that the movie was a modern day, desi take on Robinhood (hence the 'teer'!) with Sunny Deol as the hero and Manmohan Singh (Yash Chopra's frequent collaborator and cinematographer) as the director. Somehow the script wasn't coming to form and when they heard that Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit were working on Raajkumar, which had a similar premise, the entire movie got shelved.

Below: Rarest of pics, ?, Yash Chopra, Sridevi, Gulzar, Sunny Deol and Manmohan Singh at the launch of Teerandaz.

Sridevi's bhangra for Garajna: 80s

Sridevi on the sets of Garajna - a film that was made but never released. One of a handful of movies that got shelved for various (often bizarre!) reasons. 

Woman in red; Sridevi in yet another double role in Garajna.