Wonder why the release of John Abraham’s next has been repeatedly postponed
Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; November 28, 2015)

Whispers in the industry corridors suggest that the release of John Abraham-starrer Rocky Handsome, which has been pushed ahead twice in the last two months, might be further delayed. We hear the makers have overshot their budget and have been unsuccessfully pursuing a few film studios to fund the film’s promotional activities.

Rocky Handsome, which features Shruti Haasan as John’s leading lady, was initially scheduled to release in February this year. But it was postponed to October first week because the actor wanted his more commercially viable film Welcome Back to reach the audience first (in September). However, the dates were again changed to February 2016 and then March 25 next year, reportedly because he did not want the audience to ‘overdose’ on his pairing with Shruti.

A source, however, claims the release date is repeatedly being pushed ahead because the makers are left with no money to market the film. “The production cost has exceeded the budget and they desperately need money to promote it on a large scale. They are hunting for a studio for help, but have not met with any success so far. The film is currently in the post-production stage and going through a lot of creative changes,” adds the source.

The film’s director, Nishikant Kamat rubbishes the rumour and says, “It’s absolutely untrue. We are coming (to theatres) on March 25, 2016 for sure.”

A source close to the project explains, “The film is still being given finishing touches because we don’t want to serve anything raw to the audience. And even if there are any financial issues, which I am unaware of, then also March 2016 is a long way off to get things sorted.”