Has Ranbir Kapoor quit Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Baiju Bawra'?

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Sushmita Sen

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Last updated on Jul 17, 2021, 04:03 pm

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali launched Ranbir Kapoor with Saawariya (2007) in Bollywood. Although the film didn't impress many, netizens were excited about the news of the duo's second collaboration, Baiju Bawra. However, the recent update is that the Rockstar actor is planning to opt out of this project announced in 2019. Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, and Ajay Devgn are also reportedly starring in it.

Kapoor is 'not sure' about the film

Kapoor last appeared onscreen in 2018 with Rajkumar Hirani's Sanju. Since then, he's been choosing his projects wisely. Therefore, he might be having second thoughts about Bhansali's next. A source told Bollywood Hungama, "Ranbir has expressed his confusion to Bhansali and the team as well. He is not sure of Baiju Bawra and...doesn't seem to be keen anymore on working with SLB again."

Kapoor didn't have 'a great experience' working with Bhansali

Kapoor might be quitting the project because of another Dharma Productions movie, the source informed. Also, it can be because "he did not have a great experience working with him during Saawariya and they have never done a film after that," the source told Bollywood Hungama. Hence, Ranbir is likely to opt out of this project, "although nothing was ever locked on papers."

Kartik Aaryan will not replace Kapoor in 'Baiju Bawra'

The source further informed that Kartik Aaryan, who has been spotted several times at SLB's office, is not going to replace Kapoor. "Kartik's visits to SLB's office are just regular pleasantry meets. There has been no offer made to him, yet," the source said.

'Baiju Bawra' was supposed to release this Diwali

Bhansali had planned to release Baiju Bawra on Diwali this year. The 2019 announcement poster mentioned that the director would begin filming his "most ambitious magnum opus, Baiju Bawra — revenge story of a maverick maestro" after the release of Bhatt starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi. However, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the release date of Bhatt's film as well as the shooting of SLB's upcoming film.

Take a look at the 2019 announcement poster here

Movie is about young musician, Baiju, who once challenged Tansen

Baiju Bawra is based on a historical incident when a young musician, named Baiju who was determined to avenge his father's death, had challenged music maestro Tansen for a musical duel in Mughal Emperor Akbar's court. Before Bhansali, this story was turned into a film by Vijay Bhatt in 1952, featuring Bharat Bhushan as Baiju, while Meena Kumari and Kuldip Kaur played female leads.