Alia Bhatt’s ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ sets to be demolished

Bollywood star Alia Bhatt and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali were about to embark on a cinematic journey together with the upcoming film Gangubai Kathiawadi.

And while the film had gone on floors in December 2019, the filming had to face an abrupt halt owing to the ongoing coronavirus crisis that has left businesses around the world shuttered.

And now, word on the street is that the film, which was initially eyeing a release date of September 11, 2020, will now be getting its sets demolished.

As per Mid-Day citing a source, Bhansali’s production team had issued the directives of the destruction.

"In March, Bhansali had cleared the payment for the set maintenance. Even when the shutdown was announced, the team had assumed it would delay the schedule only by a month or so. However, with the situation in Mumbai looking grim, it is unlikely that the shoots will resume soon,” said the insider.

"After a round of number-crunching, it was seen that recreating the set would probably be a cheaper alternative than keeping it standing in these uncertain circumstances, as the latter entails the daily rent that has to be paid to Film City. So, the team has decided to have the set razed to the ground,” they added.

"The final call will be taken post the lockdown,” the grapevine concluded.