Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; May 15, 2015)

Salman Khan may not be able to keep up his usual rendezvous with fans on Eid due to a delay in Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s shoot, but the latest buzz suggests that the film is now looking at a pre-Independence Day release. Given that, he will possibly clash with Akshay Kumar (Brothers).

Says a source, “The shoot schedule of Bajrangi went for a toss due to the Kashmir floods, delaying the post-production work. The makers were planning to shift the release to September or October, but given the recent developments in Salman’s life, they want to take the film to theatres as early as possible. An August 14 release works from the business business point of view, as it is the beginning of a three-day weekend.”

Initially, Salman’s film was supposed to clash with the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Fan, but even the latter’s project is likely to miss the Eid deadline as the VFX work is taking inordinately long.

A unit hand says the film’s director Kabir Khan is trying to meet the I- Day release date, but nothing is confirmed yet. “The last leg of the shoot is drawing to a close and the post production work is being carried out simultaneously. Once the editing and dubbing are done, a clear picture will emerge and an official announcement be made on the release,” adds the insider.

Kabir remained unavailable for comment.