Deepika Padukone And Irrfan Khan's Film With Vishal Bhardwaj Delayed. Here's Why

New Delhi: Piku co-stars Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan's next film with filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj has been delayed due to both the stars' health issues. Mr Bhardwaj, who is directing the untitled film announced it on Facebook and wrote, "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 previously developed during the shooting of "Padmaavat" has now resurfaced." On Wednesday, news agency IANS reported that Irrfan Khan has been advised complete bed rest and his team is working on 'rescheduling all his commitments.'

Meanwhile, Deepika was reportedly spotted with a bandage on her neck at the airport earlier this week. She suffered a neck injury while filming "Padmaavat" last April.

"Her role in the film is very physically demanding and 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've seen before, and it took me a moment to recognize them when I saw the test photographs. I want both of them to be strong and fit before we start the film," read Vishal Bhardwaj's Facebook post.

Is the film a biopic on mafia queen Rahima Khan (Sapna Didi)? No, it's not. Vishal Bhardwaj dismissed the reports suggesting the same and wrote, "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 take-off 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."

Read his full post here.
 

Speaking to IANS previously, he described Deepika as "one the finest actresses" in the country. "She is combination of superstar and good actor. It's a rare combination that a performer is a superstar and at the same time has great acting abilities. Deepika is one of them," he had said.

Vishal Bhardwaj has earlier worked with Irrfan Khan in Maqbool, Saat Khoon Maaf and Haider.

Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan are co-stars of the 2015 film Piku, also starring Amitabh Bachchan. She was recently seen in the blockbuster film "Padmaavat".

(With IANS inputs)