After directing Shah Rukh Khan in Jawan and delivering a massive blockbuster, Tamil filmmaker Atlee was set to helm a mega project with Salman Khan next. Salman was scheduled to begin this film after completing Sikandar, his action entertainer with AR Murugadoss. This collaboration might also explain why Salman agreed to make a cameo appearance in Baby John, a film produced by Atlee (a remake of his own Tamil hit Theri), with the sequence directed by Atlee himself. Allu Arjun To Team Up With ‘Jawan’ Director Atlee? Sun Pictures To Produce the Project – Reports.

Reports suggested that the untitled project was to be made on a staggering budget of INR 500 crore, envisioned as a reincarnation saga that would present Salman Khan in a never-seen-before avatar. There were also discussions about either Rajinikanth or Kamal Haasan playing a parallel lead role. Additionally, Rashmika Mandanna, who stars opposite Salman in Sikandar, was reportedly being considered for the female lead in this film as well.

However, recent updates indicate that this highly anticipated project has been shelved. Masala.com first broke the news, citing an unverified Reddit post, that Atlee is no longer working on the film and has instead moved on to direct Allu Arjun, who is currently riding high on the success of Pushpa 2, India’s highest-grossing movie. Neither Atlee nor Salman Khan’s team has officially commented on these rumours yet.

Salman Atlee 6 movie shelved . Now Allu Arjun is doing Atlee's immediate next film

byu/Glad-Ad5911 inBollyBlindsNGossip

The speculation gained traction after the INR 500 crore budget figure went viral. If accurate, the film would have needed to earn over INR 1000 crore in net collections to be deemed a hit, assuming the budget was strictly adhered to. This financial pressure may have contributed to the project’s cancellation. ‘A6’: Atlee Confirms ‘Bang-On’ Collaboration With Salman Khan for His Sixth Directorial Venture, Says ‘It Will Be the Proudest Film for Our Country’ (Watch Video).

Atlee collaborating with Allu Arjun isn’t entirely new. Before Salman Khan was onboarded for what would have been Atlee’s sixth directorial venture, the filmmaker - who has yet to deliver a flop - was in talks with the Telugu superstar for a project, though those discussions didn’t materialise.

Atlee's Dropped Movie With Shah Rukh Khan and Vijay

Interestingly, there are also rumours that the reincarnation drama Atlee was supposed to direct with Salman Khan was initially pitched as a two-hero project to Shah Rukh Khan and Thalapathy Vijay. If true, it raises questions about why that collaboration never came to fruition. During the promotions of Baby John, Atlee had referred to his Salman Khan film as the "proudest film of the country," making it all the more disappointing if we never get to understand why he made such a claim. For now, we’ll have to wait for an official confirmation from either Atlee or Salman Khan to clarify the situation

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 11, 2025 08:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).