By Subhash K Jha

Mumbai, Apr 22 (IANS): The big budget crunch seems to have hit Yash Raj Films, one of the biggest production houses in the entertainment industry, which has decided to shelve Kabir Khan's lavish big-budget epic.

"Yes I've abandoned my earlier script. This was a subject I had with me from even before I made my first feature film 'Kabul Express'. You can say it's my dream project. And my dream is now on hold," Khan told IANS.

According to well-placed sources close to Yash Raj Films, the banner, which had till recently a reputation for an unbroken string of hits, has now instructed its roster of directors to shoot within reasonable budgets after setbacks like "Dil Bole Hadippa", "Rocket Singh - Salesman Of The Year" and "Pyaar Impossible".

And financially impractical projects are a strict no-no.

This, Khan discovered when after "New York" he decided to make a big-budget epic. Initially, Aditya Chopra, the Yash Raj scion, was enthusiastic about the novel idea and gave Khan a cart-blanche.

But as the script evolved, it became clear to the producers that Khan's epic would be one of the most expensive films in the history of Yash Raj. Aditya sat Khan down for a meeting and calmly told him the epic project was not working.

Khan confirms that Aditya asked him to work on another more financially feasible subject.

"After working on the earlier script for several months, I'm writing a new script. It's more of a fun film than 'New York'. It is definitely not about global terrorism this time. I've said whatever I have had to on that subject. But an undercurrent of socio-political undercurrent can't be too far away from what I do," said Khan.

As for his dream project, he hasn't given up on it. "That's the film I became a feature-director for. I won't give it up."