Rajeev Masand is Entertainment Editor and film critic at CNN-IBNTAGGED UNDER -Power Puff Girl | Message in a Bottle
Industry insiders are saying Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati is jinxed. Just when it seemed the filmmaker had pulled off a casting coup in landing Shahid Kapoor to play the third lead in his ambitious Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh starrer, now the rumour is that Bhansali may have lost Ranveer. According to the story being bandied about town, Ranveer reportedly asked Bhansali for a complete bound script before committing to the project, but the filmmaker balked, insisting that Ranveer sign the film in good faith. As of now, Ranveer may not be doing the film at all.
Rumours are abuzz that Bhansali has approached both Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan to play the lead. However, well-placed sources say this news is being circulated solely for the purpose of increasing the pressure on Ranveer to commit to the film.
But there may be more trouble brewing. There is some talk that the film's funding too has become an issue, since its budget has ballooned. Eros, the studio that's bankrolling Padmavati, has apparently asked the famously indulgent filmmaker to trim costs"particularly artiste fees, after Deepika's publicists leaked that she'd been promised a whopping Rs 11.5 crore.
With all these troubles looming over the project, naysayers suspect the film may not happen at all now. No wonder Bhansali is said to be shopping another project around discreetly" one that he's reportedly written for SRK and Kangana Ranaut.
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