Upala KBR (MID-DAY; September 21, 2017)

Following his acclaimed turn as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the former captain of the Indian cricket team in Neeraj Pandey’s 2016 biographical film, Sushant Singh Rajput became one among the most sought after artistes in Bollywood. The actor, however, seems to have far too much on his plate to handle, with his chock-a-block schedule spelling trouble for producers.

mid-day has learnt that filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor, who is currently shooting with Rajput in Kedarnath for his love-saga, had approached Ronnie Screwvala in the hope of procuring additional dates of the actor, but Screwvala refused. The latter starts shooting with Rajput in January for a film based in the Chambal valley.

The first schedule of Kedarnath, which kicked off in the temple town a few weeks ago, will be followed by a Mumbai leg, with the set being replicated at a city studio. However, with the heavy downpour playing spoilsport, Kapoor fears he may not be able to wrap up his film by the scheduled December 20 deadline.

A source from the unit says, “The Mumbai leg of the film’s shoot was expected to kick off in November. A lavish set is being constructed, and the technology would involve the use of VFX for select sequences. But, the work has been stalled due to the rains. Hence, Gattu [Abhishek Kapoor] asked Ronnie if he could have 10 additional days from his dates with Sushant in January 2018, so that he could complete the shoot.”

Kapoor had planned to film the second leg of the schedule in Mumbai since the winters in Kedarnath are unbearably cold. But Screwvala, whose film also hopes to capture a winter backdrop, refused to relent. Kapoor couldn’t convince Rajput for the additional dates, with the actor directing him to Screwvala instead.

Kapoor confirmed the developments to mid-day.