Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; September 11, 2017)

After months of speculation whether Padmavati will release in 2017, it is now confirmed that Sanjay Leela Bhansali has decided to change the release date of his film starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor.

Waiting it out
The shooting of the film was delayed due to protests in Rajasthan, which is why the film is not ready. Even though they have finished shooting a major chunk, there is always a chance that some patchwork is needed. Plus, the post-production will take time, so SLB has decided to not rush it and come on a different date to allow better execution of the film.

Vacation time
Says a source, “SLB had an October 20 deadline, which is impossible to meet now. The workers’ strike took away a few important days. Meanwhile, two of the principal actors — Deepika and Shahid — also had free dates, so they took off on vacations. A lot of the shoot is still left. The major chunk may have been shot, but some big action sequences are still left. Ranveer’s portions as the young Alauddin Khilji, too, remain to be shot.”

An empty slot
Padmavati has now vacated the November 17 release date slot. Says a source, “The makers are planning to release it in February 2018. Apart from Anushka Sharma’s Pari (February 9, 2018), no other big film is slotted for February.”