Has Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati run into rough weather again? Sources say it has and looks unlikely to keeps its release date in November this year.
The period drama based on the legendary Rani Padmini of Mewar was already sailing in troubled waters. First, in January, the Rajput caste organization Karni Sena attacked the filmmaker and torched Padmavati'ssets at Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur. This was reportedly in protest against a dream sequence said to be part of the film and featuring Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh that was allegedly wrongly depicted.
The vandals struck again in March and smashed the film's sets at Chittorgarh Fort next. And then yet again in Kolhapur, where they set fire to the sets and destroyed costumes and jewelry. The beleaguered SLB then began production at Mumbai's Film City after that, determined to release on November 17.
Sanjay is unhappy with the product and plans to shoot some scenes stylishly again
But tragedy seems to dog the filmmaker and his project and shooting for Padmavati has now been done in by the ongoing Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) strike that is threatening to delay the film's schedule.
A source close to the film says, “The strike is bothering SLB as the shoot has been stalled and nothing can be done. He has finished only 40% of the film and if the strike continues it will be very difficult for him to release Padmavati in November."
Buzz is that Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, co-producer of Padmavati, met SLB in concern about the release and they have decided to keep it hush-hush for now. The sources reveal that before the strike, the crew was working for 18 hours a day to make sure the film keeps its date with the box office. "Now nobody knows what will happen," the source adds.
The strike has stalled Padmavati's shoot and Bhansali has finished only 40% of the film
Another likely rumor is that SLB wants to re-shoot the film. The source says, "He is unhappy with the product. It's not giving him the look of opulence and grandeur that he likes in his films and he plans to shoot some scenes stylishly again."
Knowing SLB's attention for detail, this rumor might well be true. It could also be the main reason why Padmavati will fail to release in November.
