Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; February 16, 2015)

Shoojit Sircar, who recently announced a period film on football with John Abraham titled '1911', is said to have put the project on the back burner. Currently working on the post-production of 'Piku' starring Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Irrfan, the director has pushed it to next year, reveal sources.

A source says, "The producers had planned to start the film in the latter half of 2015. But since it is a period film on Mohun Bagan’s historic win against an English football club in '1911', a lot of VFX will be involved."

The source adds Sircar is likely to start another film while John has given his dates to other projects, which has delayed '1911'. Producer Ronnie Lahiri from Rising Sun Films, which was founded by Sircar, says: "We are currently working on 'Piku' after which we will put our heads together for the script of '1911' and prep up for it. Only then will the shooting dates be decided."

John will play the real life character of Shiv Das Bhaduri, who led Mohun Bagan in the historic IFA Shield final. Ayushmann Khurrana has also been signed for the film.