Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; August 1, 2014)

Raees, starring superstar Shah Rukh Khan and actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, was supposed to go on the floors in November and producer Ritesh Sidhwani had gone on record to state this. Now it has emerged that Farhan Akhtar is apparently not very happy with the second half of the script and is getting some changes done. As a result, the film has apparently been delayed.

It may be pointed out that this Rahul Dholakia film has been in the news ever since the project was announced.

Initially, it was said that Shah Rukh Khan and Farhan Akhtar would play the leads in the film. But soon after, there were reports that Farhan had decided to back out of Raees, as he was keen to star in Dev Benegal’s Bombay Samurai along with Kareena Kapoor. Later on, when Benegal’s film got pushed ahead, Farhan was back in Raees.

In the meantime, speculation was rife that Nawazuddin Siddiqui was replacing Farhan Akhtar. Now comes news that Farhan wants some changes to be made in the film’s script.

Says a source, “Farhan is sitting with the director and making some changes in the second half of the film. He wants some sequences to be re- written. Once the final draft is ready, the film will go on the floors. Keeping this in mind, Raees may not start rolling in November.”

Producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani remained unavailable for comment.