All word, no play

As actor Dia Mirza claims that she’s “turned producer”, we take a look at actors who made similar promises but never kept them...

Dia Mirza is the latest Bollywood actor to announce her foray in production. The actor, who may also star in her first production, has said that she’ll be producing biopics. “I’m inspired by stories of painter Amrita Shergill, Bharatanatyam dancer Rukmani Devi and poet and freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu. I’d like to recreate their lives,” she said.

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In the past, actors have attempted to take on the mantle of production, which included buying movie rights and appointing directors. However, the projects never saw the light of day. We look at some Bollywood babes who made production promises, only to break them later:

Sushmita Sen
In 2007, Sush announced her project on Rani Laxmibai, saying that the film would go on the floors the following year. However, she could not find financiers. Last heard, Sush was trying to get former IPL chairperson Lalit Modi to fund the project.

Mallika Sherawat
The actor registered a production company, Blue Velvet, with her brother Vikram in 2007, and even received over 50 scripts to choose from. Vikram was supposed to look at the economics of the project. However, there has been no progress since the news came out.

Katrina Kaif
In 2009, Katrina announced that she had bought the rights of a French film. About the movie, speculated to be titled A la folie..pus du tout, Kat said, “I’m serious about the film and negotiations are on. And if all goes well, I’ll have the rights soon.” However, since then, the actress has often sounded dicey and unsure, whenever any question on the project has been asked.

Shilpa Shetty
In August 2008, Shilpa said she was turning producer, with her production house, S2 Global Productions. “Our company will concentrate purely on commercial cinema and I have no intention of making socially relevant movies,” she had said. However, there has been no progress on Shilpa’s plans.

Tabu
In 2008, Tabu entered into negotiations with production house UTV to produce Telugu films. However, there has been no word of any film being made post the talks.

The Real Businesswomen
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: In 2003, Ash produced Dil Ka Rishta. She also helped promote Paa for ABCL.
Juhi Chawla: She was the first to foray into production with Dreamz Unlimited with Shah Rukh Khan. But, the company shut down after Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Ashoka flopped.