Films that saw a release after a long wait

There are films that take years to be made. Then there are films that take ages to release. Bagging a proper Friday release is nothing less than an achievement in the industry today. Love in Bombay starring Joy Mukerji and Waheeda Rehman released last week after a gap of 40 years. Even K Asif's much-acclaimed Mughal-e-Azam waited 15 years to see the darkness of cinema halls. While it went on to be hailed as a classic, most of them were not as lucky.

Ulfat Ki Nayee Manzilen
Starring: Rajkumar, Saadhna, Waheeda Rehman
Director: K Shankar
Production: 1968
Release Year: 1994
At 26 years, this particular film took way too long to release.

Love and God
Starring: Sanjeev Kumar, Nimmi, Pran
Director: K Asif
Production: 1960
Release Year: 1986
It took more than two decades after running into a series of difficulties, including the deaths of lead actor Guru Dutt in 1964 and director K Asif in 1971. The film was abandoned only to be revived by Asif's widow.

Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam
Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit
Director: KS Adhiyaman
Production: 1994
Release Year: 2002
The movie went through many different titles. The original title finally became Hum Aapke Hain Sanam but the producers thought it was too similar to Hum Aapke Hain Koun. But it wasn't the reason behind it extended delay.

Yeh Lamhe Judaai Ke
Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Raveena Tandon, Navneet Nishan
Director: Birendra Nath Tiwari
Production: 1994
Release year: 2004
This film was originally called Jaadu in 1994. Shah Rukh Khan and Raveena Tandon has shot 10-12 reels of this film but refused to do a kissing scene. They both had quit the film and it was shelved. The final version went without the kiss.

3 Bachelors
Starring: Sharman Joshi, Raima Sen, Riya Sen
Director: Ajay Sinha
Production: 2002
Release year: 2012
This film was originally made almost a decade ago but was not released for unknown reasons. It finally hit the theatres in July last year amidst a lot of controversy and litigations between producers and Sharman.

Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai
Starring: Arjun Rampal, Bobby Deol, Ameesha Patel
Director: Raj Kanwar
Production: 2002
Release year: 2006
With a story highly similar to the 1992 film Deewana, it revolved around a blind woman who struggles to come to terms with her first love - who has apparently been killed and a new love who wants to help her move on with her life.

Yaar Meri Zindagi
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha
Director: Ashok Gupta
Production: 1971
Release Year: 2008
The shooting began in 1971 and was initially directed by Mukul Dutt who left the project in 1976 after having numerous problems. Ashok Gupta took over the project in 1993 and completed it within a year's time but had issues releasing the film.

Milenge Milenge
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kareena
Director: Satish Kaushik
Production: 2004
Release Year: 2010
Salman Khan was signed on to do a guest appearance for the film but he apparently opted out because of differences with the film's lead pair. After Sasha and Bebo broke up, sources indicated that they wouldn't come together to dub for the film!

Deewana Main Deewana
Starring: Govinda, Priyanka Chopra
Director: KC Bokadia
Production: 2006
Release year: 2013
An official Hindi remake of the Tamil film Priyamudan, the film was released worldwide in February after much delay. Interestingly, Piggy Chops, who is 31 now, signed up for this film when she was just 20.

Mehbooba
Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn, Manisha Koirala
Director: Afzal Khan
Production: 2000
Release year: 2008
According to trade analysts in the industry, it had a good first-week box office response but faltered in the following weeks.

Still in the cans
...and films that never got made or released
>> Amitabh-Rekha starrer Apna Paraya (1972)
>> JP Dutta's directorial debut Sarhad (1976)
>> Shekhar Kapur's Time Machine (1992)
>> Kaizad Gustad's ill-fated Mumbai Central (2004)
>> Anurag Kashyap's Paanch (2003)
>> RGV's Let's Catch Veerappan (2004)