Filmmaker and writer Karan Razdan wears many hats in the film industry, but few know that he is the writer behind the ambitious but shelved film Time Machine. The project, starring Aamir Khan and: Juhi Chawla and directed by Shekhar Kapur, created significant buzz before it was eventually abandoned. Razdan shared the details of why the movie was shelved. Talking about the story, Razdan expanded on a revelation made by veteran art director Bijon Das Gupta in an interview in 2021. The film revolves around Aamir Khan’s character who accidentally travels back in time and lands in the Mahabharata era. Explaining the sequence, Razdan said in an interview with Bollywood Hungama, “The character does not know how to operate the time machine. Woh machine ko leke udd jaata hai. He landed in the past. When he wakes up, he hears the sounds of war. He looked down and saw a fierce battle taking place. Lord Krishna happened to see him. The protagonist asks the gentleman, ‘Yeh kya ho raha hai?’. Lord Krishna replied, ‘Mahabharat ladi ja rahi hai’! He was surprised, ‘Oh, this is Mahabharat!’.“He further revealed that the hero’s journey is driven by a deep personal desire. “He wants to meet his mother and father. Paresh Rawal and Rohini Hattangadi play his chacha-chachi. ND Balraj and Gulshan Grover are their sons and princes. They always mistreat the protagonist, and he is the servant.”Razdan also recalls how the idea for Time Machine came from a personal tragedy that he and director Shekhar Kapur shared.“Shekhar Kapur lost his mother while my father within six months of each other. This was when we were working on Dushmani. We sat down and expressed our desire to meet our dead parents once more. This is where Shekhar got the idea of ​​Time Machine and we developed it. In just 3 months, I wrote the story, screenplay and dialogues. Shekhar was accused so much that he took Laxmikant-Pyarelal on board. I explained the idea to them and later also to Anand Bakshi saab at his residence. I also narrated the entire cast including Aamir, Paresh Rawal and others. Paresh told me, ‘Climax narration ke waqt mujhe nikalna padega’. I asked him the reason. He replied, ‘Jiska climax sunn liya, woh picture chalti nahi hai’! He believed in it. I immediately told him, ‘Toh fir bhaag, mere baap’! After the narration, everyone was charged.”Asked if the project could be revived in today’s era of big film production, Razdan revealed that several prominent producers have shown interest over the years.“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 recounted his interactions with Dharma Productions, where: Jugal Hansraj headed the story department at the time.“Jugal Hansraj is looking after the story department of Dharma. Shekhar spoke to Jugal and the former told me to meet the latter. I told Jugal that I will give the narration myself. But Jugal said it is not possible as Karan likes to read the script. Then I was told that I have been offered Rs. 25 lakhs. I was shocked by a kharana khanatal bail. ho? Yeh toh samjho ki kya de raha hoon main aapko?”Razdan also expressed disappointment with how the talks went.“Karan Johar didn’t even come forward. Also, let’s not forget that Shekhar was also involved. It’s basic courtesy.”He further revealed that producer Firoz Nadiadwala is also exploring the possibility of reviving the project.“Firoz Nadiadwala wanted to make it. I gave a full narration at Guddu ji’s (Rakesh Roshan) house. Hrithik was also there. But the thing couldn’t be taken forward because they didn’t know who should direct it.Razdan concluded by revealing that another famous filmmaker’s name was finally considered, but he was not convinced that it was the right one.“Rajkumar Santoshi’s name came up. But I didn’t agree because it’s not his genre.”