No Aishwarya Rai, Diljit Dosanjh in Baadshaho; release pushed to March 2017

The cat is out of the bag as far as the casting of Baadshaho is concerned. The film, to be directed by Milan Luthria, will finally go on the floors in August 2016. The shooting for the multi-starrer film will begin in August with a 15-day schedule in Mumbai, followed by a two-month schedule in Rajasthan.

Baadshaho, co-produced by Milan Luthria and Bhushan Kumar, and written by Rajat Aroraa, is a thriller set in the Emergency era (1975-77). Luthria and his team spent three months researching the period.

A few days ago it was reported that Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh was shown the door and was replaced by Emraan Hashmi. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had admitted getting an offer for Baadshaho but the actress politely turned it down. She has now been replaced by Ileana D'Cruz. Also joining the cast is Esha Gupta. Ajay Devgn and Vidyut Jammwal were in the project a long time ago, but the delay in picking up the rest of the cast held the film back.

Director Milan Luthria confirmed the development via Twitter. 

Dosanjh was replaced by Hashmi after the former demanded a rise in pay following the success of his maiden Hindi film, Udta Punjab. While it is not known why Rai Bachchan snubbed Baadshaho, the actress is currently shooting for the Karan Johar-directed Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. 

Another significant development is that film ,which was initially supposed to release on Republic Day next year, has now been pushed to 10 March 2017.   Shah Rukh Khan's Raees and Hrithik Roshan's Kaabil are slated to clash on Republic Day and this would have seriously jeopardised Baadshaho's chances.