DNA (April 14, 2018)

Last year, Sushant Singh Rajput had announced that he will be living his dream of playing an astronaut in Chandamama Door Ke. The actor had even visited NASA and started prep for the ambitious space flick. But soon after, the makers decided to put it on the back burner.

Reveals a source from the team, “Producer Viki Rajani was supposed to bankroll the project, but now, it’s stuck indefinitely. When the makers planned the movie with Sushant, they didn’t understand the landing cost. Once they drew up the budget, they were shocked.”

The source says that the amount is too high for a Sushant-starrer. “It would’ve cost the makers almost Rs 67 crore, without the additional promotional costs.  The recovery for such a film would be extremely difficult. But even then, Viki made efforts to get investors. Nobody wanted to finance it as it seemed like a loss-making project. Everything just wasn’t adding up,” adds the source. For those not in the know, even Sushant’s Kedarnath will reportedly cost its makers over Rs 60 crore. The final amount can only be tabulated, once it’s nearing completion.

Meanwhile, Sushant, who has even designed an entire room replete with a telescope, and taken a keen interest in becoming the astronaut he was supposed to play on screen, is still expecting the film to go on floors soon. “He has shuffled his dates because of this project. It was supposed to begin last year in between the Kedarnath schedule, but it never took off. Someone needs to make him understand that this movie isn’t happening for sure,” says the source.

Another source informs us, “The makers may revisit it, but definitely not with Sushant. If they make it, they plan to cast a big star in it — either one of the senior actors or someone from the younger generation who is a crowd-puller. Sushant is a terrific actor, but he’s yet to prove himself as a potential money-spinner at the box office.”