Explainer: Why Amitabh Bachchan-UTV's 'Johnny Walker' never released
Producer Shailendra Singh claims he paid Amitabh Bachchan ₹4 crore for a movie called Johnny Walker, with Shoojit Sircar set to direct.
The deal was signed at Bachchan's home, but the project became embroiled in a legal dispute over script rights between Singh's company (Percept) and UTV;
Percept obtained a Delhi High Court stay (date not specified in the source) and multiple cases were filed, while UTV continued with its own version of the project, reported variously as Shoebite and later as Johnny Mastana, which industry reports said reached over 60% completion though it ultimately remained unreleased.
The legal mess that followed
Singh had brought Sircar and Bachchan together for the project, but things soured when AB Corp wanted production rights and Singh refused.
This sparked a court case over who actually owned the script.
Percept obtained a Delhi High Court stay (date not specified in the source) blocking UTV from making their version (Shoebite/Johnny Mastana), though a later order in 2012 was reported in UTV's favor; the film still hasn't released even though most of it was shot.
Who is Shailendra Singh?
Singh is Joint MD of Percept Picture Company, known for National Award-winning films like Page 3 and Traffic Signal. He also launched Sircar's directing career with Yahaan.
At one point, Filmfare called him one of Bollywood's six most powerful people.