Bhardwaj postpones Irrfan, Deepika starrer over health issues

Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj says he is pushing back his film, starring Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan, by a few months as both the actors are having health issues.

"I am pushing back the film by a few months as both of my lead actors are down with different health problems. Irrfan is down with jaundice and it will take him a few weeks to recover, and Deepika Padukone's back problem, which had developed during the shooting of 'Padmaavat', has now resurfaced," Bhardwaj wrote on Facebook.

He said that Deepika's role in the upcoming film is very "physically demanding" and that the "doctor has advised her not to do any strenuous work for a couple of months".

"In the past few weeks, I felt like I was back in the days of 'Maqbool' while prepping with them. Deepika and Irrfan's look tests have come out exceptionally well, nothing like you have seen before, and it took me a moment to recognise them when I saw the test photographs," he added.

The filmmaker said he wants both the stars to be "strong and fit" before they start shooting for the film.

He also made it clear that the movie is still untitled and that it is not a biopic.

"I would also like to clear that the film is still untitled and is not based on Rahima Khan/Sapna Didi's life. Yes, it's a takeoff from the story 'Femme Fatale' from Hussain Zaidi's book 'Mafia Queens of Mumbai', but as we worked on this idea, the story and screenplay have taken on a new identity and shape which is nowhere close to the above-mentioned names. Hence, it's definitely not a biopic," he added.

Bhardwaj also took to Twitter to announce that the shooting of the film has been pushed.