Sushant Singh Rajput in his small career before his demise gave the Hindi film industry some of the most precious films and his performances were applauded in them. While his career was still flourishing, the actor was linked to a lot of unmade movies, out of which some got made but not with him. One such film that is still on the back burner is Paani, which was to be helmed by Shekhar Kapur. But did you know that the rumours once said that it would mark Jennifer Lawrence’s Bollywood debut alongside Rajput?
For the unversed, after working for a very long time on the script of the movie, Shekhar Kapur in 2013 confirmed that Paani is happening and that they have roped in Sushant to play the leading man. In no time the confirmation also came from the actor’s side and things started to movie swiftly. This is also the point where Jennifer came in.
Yes, it was rumoured that Jennifer Lawrence, who was a decade younger and already an Oscar Winner was all set to make her Hindi film debut with Sushant Singh Rajput in Paani. The speculations only grew stronger with time.
‘Paani’ is a story set in a dystopian world without water. Sushant Singh Rajput and the leading lady were to play young lovers navigating the hellish landscape. The reports from Bollywood Life that spoke about Jennifer Lawrence being roped in opposite Sushant had an insider saying, “Paani will be an expensive film. The budget would be close to ₹150 crore. To justify that kind of a money, the film will have to do good business all around the world, and not just in India. Getting someone like Jennifer will ensure the film attracts eyeballs internationally as well.”
But turned out it were just rumours because just a few days later Shekhar Kapur took to his Twitter and ended them by confirming Jennifer Lawrence has not been approached for Paani.
But fate was brutal on the project and the Sushant Singh Rajput starrer never went on floors. Yash Raj Films, who were backing it then backed out after prepping for three months. It was after Sushant’s death, Shekhar Kapur spoke about the day when the film was shelved on an Instagram live with Manoj Bajpayee. “When the film was shelved and he realised he wasn’t doing the film, he cried a lot. I cried too. I would cry every time he cried because I was also passionately and deeply involved with it,” he said.
