
Shah Rukh Khan and Leonardo DiCaprio’s possible collaboration in ‘Xtreme City’, a cross-cultural gangster thriller, will have to remain a dream for many as the project has been officially shelved.
Directed by Paul Schrader and produced by Martin Scorsese, the film was set to be one of the biggest collaborations between Eastern and Western Cinema.
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SRK was to play the role of a prominent underworld figure in Mumbai, while DiCaprio was set to play a New York cop.
Schrader revealed that despite a meeting in Berlin during the initial stages, things could not work out.
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SRK’s hesitation to work under an amateur director, when he was used to hiring multiple directors in a single film, worked to everyone’s disadvantage.
Shah Rukh gradually reduced his commitment to the project, which in turn led to Leo doing the same, ultimately shelving the project forever.
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Social media has expressed immense regret at what could have been one of the most phenomenal collaborations.
One user aptly put his voice into words as he commented, “Imagine the chemistry between SRK and Leo in a film directed by Scorsese!”
The case of ‘Xtreme City’ highlights the various aspects of complexities involved when collaborating on such a global scale.
We can only hope that the big brains around the world can overcome such barriers in the future to bring an ecstatic fusion of multiple cinematic cultures to the audience.