Filmmaker and writer Karan Razdan has worn many hats in the film industry, but few know that he was the writer behind the ambitious but shelved film Time Machine. The project, starring Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla and directed by Shekhar Kapur, created a huge buzz before it was eventually shelved. Razdan had shared details about why the film was shelved. Talking about the story, Razdan expanded on a revelation made by veteran art director Bijon Das Gupta in a 2021 interview. The film revolved around Aamir Khan’s character traveling through time accidentally and landing in the Mahabharata era. Explaining the sequence, Razdan said in an interview to Bollywood Hungama, “The character does not know how to operate the time machine. Woh machine ko leke udd jaata hai. Land in the past. When he wakes up, he hears the sounds of war. He looks down and sees a fierce battle. Lord Krishna happens to see him. The protagonist asks the gentleman, ‘Yeh kya ho raha hai?’ Lord Krishna replies, “Mahabharat ladi ja rahi hai”! He is surprised, ‘Oh, this is Mahabharat!’“He further 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. ND Balraj and Gulshan Grover were his sons and they were princes. They used to abuse the protagonist, and he was the servant.”Razdan also recalled how the idea for Time Machine came from a personal tragedy shared by him and director Shekhar Kapur.“Shekhar Kapur lost his mother, while I lost my father within six months of each other. It’s when we were working on Dushmani. We were sitting and expressed the desire to be reunited once again with our deceased parents. This is where Shekhar got the idea of the time machine and we developed it. In just 3 months, I wrote the story, screenplay and dialogues. Shekhar was so charged that he got Laxmikant-Pyarelal on board. I narrated the idea to them and later also to Anand Bakshi saab at his residence. I also narrated to 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 nahin hai”! He believed in it. I immediately told him, ‘Toh fir bhaag, simple baap’! After the narrative was finished, everyone was accused.”Asked if the project could still be revived in the current era of large-scale cinema, Razdan revealed that several prominent producers had 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 Play Hansraj I was running the story department at the time.“Jugal Hansraj was handling the story department at Dharma. Shekhar had spoken to Jugal and the former told me to meet the latter. I told Jugal that I would give the narration myself. But Jugal said it won’t be possible because Karan likes to read the script. Then I was told that I will be offered 25 lakh rupees in Sonkharid. aaye ho? Yeh toh samjho ki kya de raha hoon main aapko?Razdan also expressed his disappointment with how the discussions unfolded.“Karan Johar didn’t even come face-to-face. Also, let’s not forget that Shekhar is also involved. That’s basic courtesy.”He further revealed that producer Firoz Nadiadwala had also explored the possibility of reviving the project.“Firoz Nadiadwala wanted to do it. I gave an entire narration at Guddu ji’s (Rakesh Roshan) house. Hrithik was also there. But the thing couldn’t go ahead because they didn’t know who was going to direct it. Shekhar had made it clear that since I was involved as a writer, I shouldn’t direct because the team would need my input in writing.”Razdan concluded by revealing that the name of another famous filmmaker was eventually considered, but he wasn’t convinced it was the right one.“Rajkumar Santoshi’s name came up. But he didn’t agree because that wasn’t his genre.”