Divya Kaushik (BOMBAY TIMES; March 18, 2017)

Trouble for the makers of Padmavati doesn't seem to be getting over. After a fringe group vandalised the set of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati in Jaipur in January this year, the production team received another rude shock and incurred further losses on Wednesday when the set in Masaipathar area, on the outskirts of Panhala in Kolhapur, was torched. Rimple and Harpreet Narula, who took months to create the costumes for the period drama, rue that recreating the outfits will be a time consuming process.

“We are yet to get all the details about the costumes and the actual damages suffered by the production team. A lot of hard work goes into making costumes for a period film. The outfits were very fragile and the textiles for some of them were antique, which are now irreplaceable. Embroidered costumes were revived through old techniques of weaving, so making all of them all over again will be difficult,“ sighs Rimple.

A majority of the costumes burnt were meant for the junior artistes who were expected to shoot a scene showing an army in the movie. “There were costumes for approximately 50 artistes. The production team told me that the set is damaged and nothing could be rescued since the fire brigade couldn't reach the location on time,“ Rimple adds.

In the meantime, Sanjay's team also issued an official statement, mentioning the losses incurred by the team. “The sets of Padmavati in Kolhapur in Maharashtra region witnessed an unfortunate incident last night at around 12.30 am, when certain miscreants attacked the film's set and set it on fire in an attempt to damage the property. A complaint has been filed to investigate this matter further, but we are grateful that there has been no loss of life or harm to anybody on the set. While thankfully, the incident occurred after we had wrapped our shoot for the day and all the artistes, cast and crew were safely away; unfortunately, around 70 to 80 per cent of the costumes and jewellery for the movie have been destroyed,“ the company spokesperson from Bhansali Productions was quoted as saying.