Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; January 11, 2017)

Last November, hitlist had reported about Randeep Hooda’s period action drama, The Battle of Saragarhi, being stuck after a surprise announcement by director Rajkumar Santoshi in mid 2016. Now, it turns out Santoshi and Wave Cinemas, which was backing the project, are not on the same page, and he’s scouting for a new production house to take charge.

Says a source, “There have been logistical and production issues. It did not roll due to budgetary issues.” The film is based on the 1897 battle between British Indian army contingent consisting of 21 Sikhs and Afghan Orakzai tribesmen in the North-West Frontier Province and is counted among great last-stands in history.

The spokesperson of Wave Cinemas says, “There has been great speculation, but the fact is that the contract is not yet finalised. Santoshi and the producers still need to sign on the dotted line.” Santoshi did not respond to text messages. He has reportedly said he is keen to shoot the film on a start-to-finish schedule beginning next month.

What may be adding to his anxiety is Salman Khan and Karan Johar’s tie-up for a film on the same historical event starring Akshay Kumar.