How was Salman Khan responsible for John Abraham’s dream project The Great Gama biopic being shelved? Find out

Parmeet Sethi dedicated himself to acting until 2010, working across both television and film. However, at a certain point, he decided to shift gears and pursue writing instead. After his work on Badmaash Company, Parmeet wrote an epic tale based on the life of Indian wrestler Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt, also known as The Great Gama, with John Abraham set to star. Unfortunately, the project never came to fruition due to the release of a similar script for Salman Khan’s Sultan.

As reported by SCREEN, after completing the script, Parmeet Sethi first reached out to Aditya Chopra. However, the producer was unable to support the project, as he was already developing a similar film starring Salman Khan.

Undeterred, Parmeet turned to John Abraham, who agreed to both act in and produce the film. Unfortunately, the project had to be abandoned when Salman Khan announced a movie on the same theme.

This setback caused a significant pause in Parmeet’s filmmaking journey, ultimately pushing him to return to acting. Reflecting on that period, he said, “You have to do something to keep the kitchen running.”

Parmeet Sethi revealed that the primary reason behind the hiatus in his career was the struggle to bring a passion project to life. He explained that he had written a script based on the legendary wrestler The Great Gama and pitched it to Aditya Chopra.

However, Chopra had just greenlit a similar wrestling-themed script titled Sultan, which later starred Salman Khan. Parmeet recalled Chopra telling him that producing two films on the same subject wasn’t feasible.

Though disappointed, Parmeet Sethi took Aditya Chopra’s advice and looked beyond Yash Raj Productions for support. He shared that Chopra was kind and encouraged him to explore other avenues, even offering to assist in the process.

Parmeet then reached out to John Abraham, who was thoroughly impressed with the script and agreed to both act in and produce the film. The project seemed promising, and the team began early preparations. However, just a month later, Salman Khan announced a film on the same subject.

As a result, the studio backed out, citing the clash of themes and the fact that Khan’s announcement had taken the lead. The project was ultimately shelved.

Once Khan made his project on the same subject official, Parmeet and John had no choice but to abandon their film. “It broke my heart,” Parmeet admitted, adding that John was equally disappointed.

He described the script as exceptional and firmly believes it still holds the potential to make a remarkable film even today. The prolonged gap in his career, he explained, was a result of these setbacks between 2010 and 2015. Eventually, the challenges led him back to acting.

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