A January 2018 release looks increasingly unlikely for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is likely to appoint a team of historians to view the film, as reported by news agency IANS.
The CBFC, popularly known as the censor board, supposedly took this decision after the makers in their application for certification said the film is partially based on historical facts.
IANS quoted a source from the board saying, "The content will now have to be scrutinized for authenticity."
As per the report, the CBFC had sent the film back to the makers last month after they left a column blank that required them to mention whether their film was a work of fiction.
Earlier, the CBFC was uspet with director Bhansali and the film's producers after they sent a 2D copy of Padmavati when they required a certificate for 3D.
There is no word yet on how long the CBFC will take to appoint the team of historians.
"We have not scheduled the film. There are at least 40 feature films in different languages waiting in queue before Padmavati. Because of the year-end, some board members were on holiday and a few others had called in sick. Forget about appointing a panel of historians, we don't even have a normal examining committee to view all the films," the source added.
The source further told IANS that it doesn't see Padmavati being released before March or April, provided the CBFC clears the film.