King Budget Shoots Up To ₹450 Crore? Director Siddharth Anand Replies To Viral Report

King is one of the most anticipated Bollywood movies set for release later this year in December. Some reports have claimed that it is a remake of the 1994 French action thriller Leon: The Professional, but this stands unconfirmed. A teaser was released by the team in November last year, showing lead star Shah Rukh Khan in a new look, doing high-octane stunts. The movie is currently in the final stages of production, and the buzz surrounding its theatrical debut ahead of Christmas is already being discussed.

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A report recently surfaced pegging the budget of King at a whopping ₹450 crore. It was also claimed that the team had shot for 150+ days for the movie in various international locations, with the shoot expected to wrap up in August. As per the circulating report in Bollywood Hungama, ₹450 crore is the estimated budget of King, excluding print and publicity costs and the fees of Shah Rukh Khan. This claimed figure would have made King the most expensive movie of SRK, with Jawan (estimated budget of ₹400 crore) and Pathaan (₹350 crore) following.

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Seemingly addressing reports around the film's mega budget, director Siddharth Anand wrote on X, "False." While the director of War and Pathaan did not reply directly to posts referring to the ballooning budget of King, many believed that it was his veiled response to the report.  

King's star cast is stacked with Bollywood stars. Abhishek Bachchan plays the antagonist in the movie, with Deepika Padukone, Arshad Warsi, Raghav Juyal, Suhana Khan, Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Abhay Verma and more roped in for pivotal roles. King will release on December 24, a week after the global rollout of Marvel Studios' most-awaited Avengers: Doomsday, set for theatrical debut on December 18.