Padmavati's fate remains undecided, to see a release date only in March or April

The fate of Padmavati directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali still remains undecided as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is yet to take a call on its content. And it looks like it will see a release only in April or March of 2018.

The makers of the film were hoping to get a thumbs up post Gujarat elections as there were speculations that the film was kept on hold due to the polls. Many politicians had also said the film’s story could hurt public sentiment which could impact the election results.

While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contemplating on who to name the next chief minister of Gujarat, people involved with Padmavati still have no sight of a release date for the film.

Padmavati may receive certification from Censor Board only in January as December is drawing to a close. The film has still not been scheduled for the Board’s viewing as there are 40 feature films in different languages waiting in the queue before Padmavati, said a CBFC source.

The source also pointed out it will only be in the second week of January that the film will be certified. This means it will come out in theatres not before March or April. But it may be left hanging again on the grounds of objectionable content. CBFC will take the final call.

One of the reasons for the delay in giving clearance is that many board members were on holiday as the year is coming to an end and few called in sick, the source said. Currently, there isn’t even a normal Examining Committee to view all films, the source added.

According to the source at the censor board, makers of Padmavati had unnecessarily complicated its case with an ambiguous disclaimer in its application for certification which stated the film was partially based on historical facts.

"The content will now have to be scrutinised for authenticity," the source said declining to be named. The film had earlier been sent back to the producers after it was found that the column for stating whether it was a work of fiction or was based on historical facts was left blank.

According to a previous Moneycontrol report, Padmavati was likely to see a February 9 release after a schedule sent out by distributors to overseas chains like US/Canada mentioned this date for the film’s release.

But now things are back to square one with no definite date for the film’s release.

A panel of historians was going to be setup to review the film but due to the festive mood no panel has yet been appointed.