Khan, 37, who has been in news for bashing girlfriends and a fatal hit-and-run controversy, announced earlier this year that he was to star as Lord Ram in the big-budget "Ramayana."

"He (Khan) as well as I have received a number of threats from certain people, following which we have decided not to make the movie at least for now," Walia told AFP.

"I would not like to say who these people are who threatened us as it would create further controversy. I kept on telling them that Khan is just an actor and it should be taken only in that spirit. But you can't make some people understand."

The Asian Age newspaper reported that Khan, a Muslim, received threats from Hindu right-wing group Bajrang Dal for taking the role.

"We had started pre-production work on the film, but there are some people who think that I should not play Ram because I am a Muslim," the report quoted Khan as saying.

"How can people forget that my mother is a Hindu? And if my mother would not have been there, how would I be here today? It is frustrating and sad, but what can I do?"

Walia said the project is being kept in abeyance at the moment and may be revived later.

"Ramayana" was to be produced by Khan and Walia's production company, GS Entertainment, with a budget of over 1.0 billion rupees (21.6 million dollars).

Khan's brother Sohail Khan had been tapped to play Laxman, the younger brother of the Hindu deity, in the legendary epic tale of Prince Ram and his wife Sita who are made by Ram's stepmother to spend 14 years in the jungle to make way for her son to be crowned King of Ayodhya, a princely province in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The movie was aimed at both the Indian and the international market. To arouse the interest of the more lucrative western market, Lord Ram's wife, Sita -- the epitome of the ideal Indian wife-- was to be portrayed by a Hollywood actress.

The movie was to be shot in Lord Ram's birthplace of Ayodhya and also in New Zealand.

A television series on "Ramayana" about a decade ago drummed up tremendous religious fervour, with fans across India tuning in for the show and paying homage to actors who portrayed the on-screen gods.