Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; February 17, 2015)

Rumours and controversies surrounding Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet refuse to die down. About three weeks ago, we had reported about the filmmaker apparently struggling with the post production job and steadily spiraling budget. Now the grapevine is buzzing about Fox Star Studios, which is co-producing the ambitious project, having withheld the last instalment of funds.

An industry source says, “Since the film has overshot its original budget of Rs 96 crore, Fox has said that the last instalment of Rs 8-9 crore would be released only if the film breaks even.”

The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in the lead while Karan Johar, Raveena Tandon and Kay Kay Menon will be seen in key roles. A source close to the project says, “There were a few portions which lead actor Ranbir Kapoor felt needed to be re-shot, but they had to make do with some amount of patchwork as the budget had crossed Rs 130 crore. The VFX was turning out to be very expensive.”

Kashyap dismisses the buzz, saying it was a “regular and accepted practice in the industry” to release the last 10 per cent of the funds at the time of delivery. “Fox has not said any such thing. Whoever is spreading these negative stories about Bombay Velvet has probably run out of stories and probably had to invent a fresh one,” he adds.

The spokesperson for Fox Star Studios echoes the filmmaker, stating: “Phantom (Kashyap’s production house) and Fox Star Studios are partners who believe in each other and stand by each other. This information is completely baseless and malicious. Rumours about film being over-budget is also false. We are all excited about the film and gearing up for its release on May 15.”