Sanjay Leela Bhansali keeps Bajirao short, crisp

The shooting of Bajirao Mastani is finally complete. But director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s real battle has only begun, as he starts to pitch his magnum opus against Rohit Shetty’s Dilwale starring his once muse, Shah Rukh Khan. From the looks of it, neither of the two directors is going to budge from the frozen release date and hence, Bhansali’s efforts are on to make the film as fool-proof a success as possible. To begin with, the editing is complete and it’s crisp.

Says a source close to the project, “Last week the entire shooting was wrapped up. What’s amazing is that the editing is done too. Sanjay's editor Rajesh Pandey (who has earlier edited Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela) was on the job as the shooting progressed. The editing got done simultaneously with the shoot.”

The film’s playing time has been kept down at two hours and 30 minutes. Adds the source, “Considering the format and how much footage it takes to narrate historical sagas, Sanjay’s determination to keep the length short is truly valorous. The film was originally supposed to run into more than 220 minutes of playing-time but he has sacrificed song-dance sequences to keep it in check.”

The film has been shot at an estimated budget of '160 crores and will be pitched by its producers as the Mughal-e-Azam of its times.