Aditya Dhar, who made his blockbuster debut with Vicky Kaushal’s\u00a0Uri: The Surgical Strike, originally wanted to direct a film starring Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan and Katrina Kaif. But destiny had other plans.<\/p>\n
His first project\u2014backed by Dharma Productions and featuring Fawad\u2014was shelved after the Uri attack in 2016. Ahead of the release of his much-awaited sequel\u00a0Dhurandhar 2, old stories about the ace director have resurfaced.<\/p>\n
Aditya Dhar Was Planning a Film Called\u00a0Raat Baaki\u00a0(2016)<\/p>\n
Back in 2016, Aditya Dhar was set to direct a movie titled\u00a0Raat Baaki, starring Pakistani star Fawad Khan and Katrina Kaif in the lead roles.<\/p>\n
The film was slated to go on floors by the end of 2016. But in September that year, four Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed militants raided an Indian Army camp in Jammu & Kashmir, killing 19 soldiers.<\/p>\n
The deadly attack sparked nationwide outrage, protests, and an immediate ban on Pakistani artistes working in India\u2014shattering Dhar’s hopes for his debut.<\/p>\n
“Aditya Dhar, then a seasoned screenwriter with years of quiet hustle, was finally stepping into the director’s chair. He was all set to direct his debut film\u00a0Raat Baaki, a glossy Dharma Productions romance with none other than the Pakistani star Fawad Khan and Katrina Kaif. It was sleek, star-studded, and locked in\u2014until geopolitics came crashing through the frame.<\/p>\n
“In September 2016, the Uri terror attack stunned the country. It was one of the deadliest attacks on Indian security forces in Kashmir. What followed was a wave of public outrage and a swift ban on Pakistani artists working in India. Just like that, Aditya Dhar’s dream project was shelved. The Uri attack that shook the nation had also quietly ended Dhar’s big break before it began,” film scholar Yasser Usman wrote in a special article for NDTV.<\/a><\/p>\n Aditya Dhar’s\u00a0Raat Baaki\u00a0Became\u00a0Dhoom Dhaam<\/p>\n The Netflix film\u00a0Dhoom Dhaam\u00a0(2024), starring Yami Gautam and Pratik Gandhi, is actually a rework of Aditya Dhar’s shelved project\u00a0Raat Baaki.<\/p>\n