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  Entertainment   Bollywood  21 Aug 2017  Ranveer, Deepika’s kiss irks Bhansali

Ranveer, Deepika’s kiss irks Bhansali

THE ASIAN AGE. | SUBHASH K JHA
Published : Aug 21, 2017, 12:29 am IST
Updated : Aug 21, 2017, 12:29 am IST

As Sanjay Leela Bhansali is trying to keep controversy away from Padmavati, his lead pair’s intimate picture doesn’t seem to have helped his cause.

Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone
 Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone

At a time when all efforts are being made to shoot Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s historical opus Padmavati in strict secrecy and with utter discretion, the ‘together’ pictures of the lead cast, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, have generated a serious case of heebie-jeebies for the film’s team.

The wounds are yet to heal from the attack from a Rajput organisation that the team suffered in January during an outdoor shooting schedule in Jaipur. The Padmavati team was attacked yet again in March, while shooting in Kolhapur. In both cases, the damage to the film’s movable property, and more crucially to the crew’s morale, was indescribable.

Sanjay’s brief after the grief was terse: be careful and discreet. This is what he advised Ranveer and Deepika, who don’t share one single frame together, let alone a song the couple was rumoured to share.

Says a source close to the development. “He doesn’t care whether Ranveer and Deepika are seeing each other. He just wanted them to be discreet about public appearances together. He wanted to avoid the image of the two actors as a couple, as this could harm the film, where their hostility and not their compatibility is the driving force.”

The picture going viral has deeply upset Sanjay. This PDA, say sources, is the last thing that he needs for his beleaguered film.

“At a time when the film’s anxious producers, Viacom 18 Motion Picture, and Sanjay himself want to ensure those protesting against the film that the two have no scenes together, a picture of them getting cosy in public is eminently avoidable, to say the least,” says a source.

The optimists hope that the incriminating picture is perhaps a hoax. “Kya farak padhta hai (What difference does it make?) Cinema is all about perception, and the picture tells it all,” says a source.

As Padmavati readies to release on November 17, the over-zealous pair is best reminded that the film’s success is important to all concerned.

Tags: sanjay leela bhansali, ranveer singh, deepika padukone