Vishal Bhardwaj puts Irrfan-Deepika-starrer on hold until his 'warrior' returns

After a week of mystery, Irrfan Khan, on 16 March, finally revealed that he has been diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour. The actor has since announced that he will be travelling to the United States for treatment.

While the news does come as a relief to his fans praying for his good health, it also means that some of the actor's projects need to be put on hold.

Director Vishal Bhardwaj has announced that the Irrfan Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer based on S Hussain Zaidi's book Mafia Queens of Mumbai has been put on hold till the actor returns from his treatment.

In his Facebook post, the director wrote, 'Irrfan is a warrior and we know he will conquer this battle.'

While Bhardwaj has directed Khan before in Maqbool (2004) and Haider (2014), Padukone has worked with the actor in the critical and commercial success, Piku (2015).

Earlier Padukone had expressed a similar sentiment when she told mediapersons, "If his (Irrfan’s) health is not best at this point, I think it is important for all of us to pray, not just for him, but for everyone."

The actor does have a film, Abhinay Deo's Blackmail, scheduled to be released in theatres on 6 April.

Khan also has Akarsh Khurana's Karwaan, alongside Mithila Palkar and Dulquer Salmaan, awaiting to be released later this year.