Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; January 28, 2019)

Following the case of sexual harassment levied against co-owner Vikas Bahl, Phantom Films announced its dissolution last October. Three months since, erstwhile co-founder Anurag Kashyap appears to be struggling to get his individual ventures afloat. With Phantom out of the picture, we hear his forthcoming production — the Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar-starrer Womaniya — has been put on the backburner.

Kashyap had managed to find support from producers Shibasish Sarkar and Nidhi Parmar for the biopic on UP-based octogenarian sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar. However, escalating budgets have apparently put the trio in a spot.

A source tells mid-day, “Taapsee and Bhumi were to prep for a month, following which the film was to be shot in Uttar Pradesh. The movie required antique weapons that were proving to be [expensive] to source. The makers were breaching the budget. Also, given the indefinite delay, the actors eventually moved on to other projects. it will be tough to reschedule their dates now.”