Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; February 12, 2015)

If the grapevine is to be believed, Emraan Hashmi will have to wait longer for the India release of his maiden international project, Tigers. Helmed by Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic, the Indo-French-British film is slated to hit the theatres here next month.

However, an alleged tussle among the co-producers threatens to push the release date ahead. A source says, “The three producers have been fighting over the rights of the film. Besides, the issue of sharing the revenue generated is a major bone of contention among them. The film is supposed to release in India on March 6, but with the ongoing fight, it looks a little difficult.”

The film has been jointly produced by two Indian companies, Cinemorphic and Sikhya Entertainment, and a French company called ASAP Films. The source adds that the dispute has upset Tanovic, who recently took to social media to express anger. “However, he deleted the posts later,” says the source.

The film, which is inspired by a real-life incident in Pakistan, was showcased at Toronto Film Festival last year and was well received. Emraan, too, was appreciated for his character as Ayan, a salesman who works for a multinational that manufactures baby formula in Pakistan and acts as a whistle- blower when he finds out that the formula can cause fatal diarrhoea when mixed with polluted water.

Guneet Monga, founder of Sikhya Entertainment, remained unavailable for comment while Tanovic did not reply to our queries.