Subhash K Jha (DNA; July 2, 2015)

The shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s historical epic Bajirao Mastani is happening on a war footing. All market perception that the ambitious epic won’t be able to make its release deadline (December 18), is being changed. Says a source close to the project, “SLB encountered something of a setback when lead actor Ranveer Singh injured his shoulder and was out of action for a month. We admit there was a slight doubt as to whether we can make it on time despite Ranveer’s injury. But now all doubts have been put to rest, as Bhansali sat down with the film’s producers Eros International.” Schedules have been reworked to ensure shooting goes smoothly till the release date. “There are some tough war scenes to be shot. Sanjay wants to give Ranveer’s shoulder time to heal before shooting them,” informs a source.

Subhash K Jha (DNA; June 24, 2015)

Over the past few days, there has been much speculation and false confirmations of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s historical opus Bajirao Mastani being postponed, from its scheduled December 18 release date.

Reasons given included a) The film wouldn’t be ready for release in time and b) The marketing team behind the project freaked out when they came to know that Shah Rukh Khan and Rohit Shetty’s second collaboration Dilwale was scheduled for December 18.

Both are false assumptions. According to a source close to Sanjay Leela Bhansali, “The film is being shot on a war footing, pun intended. There are many never-seen-before war scenes, dances and dramatic confrontations. But Sanjay is on schedule. In fact, he didn’t even know about Shah Rukh’s plans or that there was talk of the film being postponed.”

A spokesperson from the film’s co-producers Eros International confirmed, “We are gearing up for a December 18 release and theatres are being blocked accordingly. The trailer will be coming out soon.”

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; May 22, 2015)

The industry grapevine is abuzz with rumours that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani, which was to clash with Rohit Shetty’s Dilwale, will miss a Christmas release this year.

Sources suggest that lead actor Ranveer Singh’s shoulder injury has delayed shoot of the period drama. During the Rajasthan schedule of Bajirao Mastani, Ranveer fell off a horse and dislocated his shoulder, following which he had to undergo surgery at a hospital here early last month.

A source says, “He is yet to recover completely and resume shoot. The filming is in progress, but there were certain portions that had to be shot in April and the entire unit had been asked to stay on its toes. But it didn’t happen and those scenes can be shot only after the monsoon gets over. Due to this unforeseen break, the film will not release around Christmas.” The source adds that the film will make it to the theatres in the first quarter of 2016. It was initially supposed to clash with the Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone- starrer Tamasha, which has also picked a new date — November 27.

With the two films giving up on the Christmas slot, Dilwale, so far, seems to be the only film set for the festive release.

Bhansali was not available for comment.