Hindi film producer Sandeep Singh has announced that he is shelving a film he planned to make on Indian ruler Tipu Sultan. In an official statement released on social media, he cited receiving threats as the primary reason for backing out of making the project. Taking to Twitter, Sandeep Singh wrote in his post, "The film on Hazrat Tipu Sultan will not be made. I kindly request my fellow brothers and sister to refrain from threatening or abusing my family, friends and me. I sincerely apologize if I have unintentionally hurt anyone’s religious sentiments. It was never my intention to do so, as I firmly believe in respecting all beliefs. As Indians, let us forever unite and always give respect to one another! Love, Sandeep Singh (sic)".
Sandeep first announced the Tipu Sultan project back in May in an Instagram post and shared how he wanted to reveal his "dark side". He wrote, "I was shocked to learn the true reality of Tipu Sultan. The story gave me goosebumps. This is the cinema I personally believe in. Whether it’s PM Narendra Modi, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, Main Atal Hoon or Bal Shivaji – my films stand for truth. I think people knew what a tyrant Tipu Sultan was but chose to ignore it. And this is exactly what I want to showcase on 70mm. Honestly, he doesn’t even deserve to be called a Sultan. I was brainwashed into believing him to be a brave heart as shown in our history textbooks. But nobody knows his malevolent side. I want to expose his dark side for the future generation. (sic)"
Announced ahead of the Karnataka assembly polls in May, the Tipu Sultan film was planned to be co-produced by Sandeep, Eros International, and Rashmi Sharma Films, with a release in Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam languages. Pawan Sharma, who was the front-runner to direct the film, said at the time of the project's announcement, "What we are taught in school about Tipu Sultan is gross misinformation. I stood absolutely shaken and disillusioned to know his reality as a bigoted king. Through my film I am daring to show a brutal reality that has been manipulated just for us to take him to be a warrior hero."