Salman Khan puts director on wait

Mumbai: While the shooting of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (PRDP) is taking place in installments, subject to Salman Khan’s availability, the delay is costing filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya a fortune.

But now it looks like Barjatya is in for more trouble. According to reliable sources, Salman will start shooting for director Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan beginning early next year.

While a start-to-finish schedule of PRDP was scheduled to start in January 2015, the plan seems to have gone awry. While Barjatya has put up a lavish and expensive set in Lonavala that cannot be dismantled before wrapping up the shoot, Salman’s indefinite absence from the shoot schedule has already started unnerving the filmmaker about the loss that the delay will cause.

“Be it Hum Saath Saath Hain, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun or Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon, Soorajji always expects his lead actors to allot bulk dates. The idea is to finish the film as soon as possible. But the current scenario has put us in a fix. Salman is committed to begin shooting for Kabir’s film early next year,” says a close source.

There is very little that Sooraj can do to get Salman’s undivided dates and time. The film has already gone over budget and the delay in the shooting will only add to his woes.