Aditya Dhar Shelved Debut Film With Fawad Khan and Katrina Kaif Due to Uri Attacks Filmmaker Aditya Dhar, known for his 2018 blockbuster Uri: The Surgical Strike, had a different debut project that never saw the light of day. Originally planned as a romantic crime comedy titled Raat Baaki, the film was set to star Pakistani actor Fawad Khan and Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif. However, the project was abruptly shelved following the Uri attacks in 2016, which led to a ban on Pakistani artists working in Indian cinema. The film was scheduled to begin production by the end of 2016, but the Uri attacks, which occurred on September 29, 2016, changed everything. The incident, attributed to Pakistan-backed terrorists, triggered a nationwide backlash and resulted in the suspension of collaborations between Indian and Pakistani actors. As a result, Fawad Khan was barred from working in India, and the production of Raat Baaki was indefinitely delayed. Aditya Dhar later reflected on the situation in interviews. He told Reuters in 2019 that the film had been in the works before the attacks, stating, “The surgical strikes happened on the 29th of September. Before that, I was supposed to do a film called Raat Baaki with Fawad Khan and Katrina Kaif, which actually got shelved because of the Uri attacks, because Pakistani artists were not allowed to work in India. Within 10 days, the surgical strikes happened.” He also shared similar sentiments with Mumbai Mirror, explaining that the film’s production was halted just as the Uri attacks unfolded. “I was doing a film with Fawad Khan. But the moment we supposed to go on the floor for the film, the Uri attack happened because of which Pakistani actors were banned and Fawad was not allowed to come back, and the film went into the limbo.#aditya_dhar #fawad_khan #katrina_kaif #uri_attacks #dhoom_dhaam
Aditya Dhar's First Film With Fawad Khan Was Shelved, He Made It Later With Yami Gautam Aditya Dhar, known for his blockbuster debut with Vicky Kaushal's Uri: The Surgical Strike, originally planned to direct a film starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan and Katrina Kaif. The project, titled Raat Baaki, was set to be produced by Dharma Productions and was intended to be a glossy romance. However, the project was abruptly shelved in 2016 following the Uri terror attack, which led to a nationwide ban on Pakistani artists working in India. The attack, which killed 19 soldiers, triggered public outrage and resulted in the suspension of collaborations involving Pakistani actors, effectively ending Dhar's debut project before it could begin. The shelving of Raat Baaki marked a significant setback for Dhar, who had been working as a screenwriter for years. The film was slated to begin production by the end of 2016, but the geopolitical fallout from the attack disrupted plans. Film scholar Yasser Usman noted in an article for NDTV that the Uri attack not only shocked the nation but also "quietly ended Dhar's big break before it began." The project was left in limbo, with no clear path forward for the director. Years later, Dhar reimagined Raat Baaki as the 2024 Netflix film Dhoom Dhaam, starring Yami Gautam and Pratik Gandhi. In a 2025 interview with Bollywood Hungama, Dhar confirmed that the film was a rework of his original concept. He described the adaptation as a contemporary update, tailored for modern audiences. While the original project featured Fawad Khan and Katrina Kaif, the new version shifted focus to Yami Gautam, with the story being restructured to align with current cultural and social contexts.#aditya_dhar #yami_gautam #fawad_khan #dharma_productions #raat_baki
