Padmavati row: Deepika Padukone-starrer not to hit screens before March 2018

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming period drama 'Padmavati' has been mired in controversy since inception. While the magnum opus is still finding it hard to get a new release date, CBFC's latest decision regarding the same has left movie lovers astonished across India.

While there were rumours that the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directorial might release on January 5 or 12, latest media reports suggest that the Deepika-Padukone-starrer will not hit the screens before March 2018.

The Central Board of Certification (CBFC) had earlier send the movie back to its makers for a few technical issues and now is all set to appoint a panel of historians to check whether there is any sort of historical distortion or not in the movie.

Talking about the latest development a source close to CBFC said, "The content will now have to be scrutinised for authenticity," reported India Today.

"We have not scheduled the film. There are at least 40 feature films in different languages waiting in the queue before Padmavati," the source added.

"Forget about appointing a panel of historians, we don't even have a normal Examining Committee to view all the films," the source said.

"Even by conservative estimates the film won't be certified before the second week of January. I don't think they can release the film before March or April. That is, provided the CBFC clears the film without any objection," the source close to CBFC concluded.

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Starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, Padmavati was initially scheduled to hit the screens on December 1.

Following Karni Sena protests all over the country, CBFC's objection on parts of storyline, several death threats issued to Deepika and Bhansali, makers had voluntarily deferred the release date of the flick.

Produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Bhansali Productions, the Indian epic drama features Deepika Padukone in the title role as Rani Padmavati, alongside Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji.