Karan Johar offered Rs 25 lakh for the script of The Time Machine, which was to star Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla, says writer Karan Razdan: Sona Haridne aaye ho I nourished Haridne aaye ho.

Director and writer Karan Razdan has worked in various ways in the film industry, but few people know that he was the brains behind the ambitious but delayed film The Time Machine. The project, directed by Shekhar Kapur and starring Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla, generated considerable buzz before it was eventually dropped. Razdan shared details about why the film was shelved.Talking about the story, Razdan elaborated on a revelation made by veteran art director Bihon Das Gupta in a 2021 interview. The film revolves around Aamir Khan’s character who accidentally travels through time and lands in the era of Mahabharata.Explaining the episode, Razdan said in an interview with Bollywood Hungama, “The character doesn’t know how to operate the time machine. Woh Machine ko leke udd jaata hai. He lands in the past. When he wakes up, he hears the sounds of war. He looks down and sees a fierce battle going on. Lord Krishna accidentally sees him. The protagonist asks the lord, ‘Yes, kya ho raha hai?’ Lord Krishna replies, ‘Mahabharat ladi’ ja rahi hai!” He is amazed: “Oh, this is Mahabharata!”He also revealed that the protagonist’s journey was driven by a deeply personal desire. “He wanted to meet his mother and father. Paresh Rawal and Rohini Hattangadi play his chacha chachi. N.D. Balraj and Gulshan Grover were their sons and princes. They mistreated the protagonist and he was a servant.”Razdan also recalled that the idea for The Time Machine came from a personal tragedy that he and director Shekhar Kapur shared.“Shekhar Kapur lost his mother and I lost my father within six months of each other. This was when we were working on Dushmani. We sat and expressed our desire to meet our deceased parents once again. It was here that Shekhar came up with the idea of a Time Machine and we developed it. In just 3 months, I wrote the story, screenplay and dialogues. Shekhar was so excited that he brought Laxmikant-Pyarelal on board. I narrated the idea to them and later also to Anand To Bakshi Saab at his residence, I also told the entire cast including Aamir, Paresh Rawal and others, “The climax of the story is ke waqt mujhe nikalna padega.” I asked him what is the matter! After the story ended, everyone was charged.”When asked if the project could be revived in today’s era of large-scale film production, Razdan said that over the years, several well-known producers have shown interest in it.“Manmohan Shetty, Ramesh Taurani and Karan Johar wanted to do it. I even sent the script to Karan, but he quoted a ridiculously low price.” He then spoke about his interaction with Dharma Productions, where Jugal Hansraj was heading the story department at the time.“Jugal Hansraj was looking after the story department at Dharma. Shekhar spoke to Jugal and the former told me to meet the latter. I told Jugal that I would handle the narration myself. But Jugal said that it would not be possible as Karan likes to read the script. Then they told me that they would offer me Rs 25 lakh. I was shocked. Sona haridne aaye ho I nourished haridne aye ho? Yes then samjo ki kya de raha hoon maine aapko?Razdan also expressed disappointment with the way the discussions are developing.“Karan Johar didn’t even meet face to face. Besides, let’s not forget that Shekhar is also involved in this. It’s just common courtesy.”He also revealed that producer Firoz Nadiadwala was also exploring the possibility of reviving the project.“Firoz Nadiadwala wanted to do it. I gave the full narration at Guddu ji’s (Rakesh Roshan) house. Hrithik was also there. But the thing could not go ahead as they did not know who should direct it. Shekhar made it clear that since I was involved as a writer, I should not direct as the team would need my input in writing.”Razdan concluded by revealing that another famous director’s name was eventually considered, but he wasn’t sure it was a good fit.“Rajkumar Santoshi’s name came up. But I didn’t agree because it wasn’t his genre.”