For months now, buzz has been building around Sunny Deol joining forces with ‘Kill’ director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat for a big-budget action thriller, tentatively called ‘Parshuram’. The film, produced by Madhu Mantena and Mythri Movie Makers, was set to commence filming in October 2026. However, the project has now stalled and been put on hold indefinitely.

Sunny Deol’s ‘Parshuram’ held up by director’s Hollywood deal

According to Bollywood Hungama, ‘Parshuram’ has been put on hold after Nikhil Nagesh Bhat moved ahead with his Hollywood directorial venture. The filmmaker, who earned widespread acclaim for raising the bar for action cinema in India with ‘Kill’, has signed on to direct ‘Deadlocked’, an action thriller for Amazon MGM Studios starring Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx. Bhat had been in discussions for a potential Hollywood collaboration for nearly two years, and the project has finally materialised, marking a significant milestone in his career.

Sunny Deol’s ‘Parshuram’ now expected only in 2027

Reports indicate that Bhat has already started prepping for his Hollywood debut and is unlikely to sign on for any other project until ‘Deadlocked’ is done. This has reportedly pushed ‘Parshuram’ to 2027, with producers said to be weighing whether to wait it out for Bhat or hand the film to another director instead. According to reports, Mythri Movie Makers is also considering fast-tracking ‘Jaat 2’ as an alternative project, although these talks are said to still be in early stages, with nothing finalised yet.

Sunny Deol’s packed lineup of upcoming films

Meanwhile, Sunny Deol also has a busy few months ahead. On August 14, he’ll be seen in Rajkumar Santoshi’s ‘Lahore 1947’, with Shashank Udapurkar’s ‘Gabru’ coming up next. He’ll also play Lord Hanuman in Nitesh Tiwari’s ‘Ramayana’, out on November 6 this year, and appear in Excel Entertainment’s action thriller ‘Antony’ opposite Jyotika.

Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s Hollywood film ‘Deadlocked’

Coming to Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s project, ‘Deadlocked’ centers on a grieving former Marine on jury duty who is pulled back into action when the trial of the century spirals into a deadly hostage crisis, triggered by the defendant’s daughter seizing control of the courthouse to secure her father’s release. The film is set to premiere globally on Prime Video.