Confirmed: Padmavat to release on January 25

The date is finally confirmed. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Padmavat is all set to release in the theatre on January 25th, 2018. The controversial film got its censor certificate earlier last week and now the makers have planned to release the film in January and cash in on the extended weekend. 

Interestingly, the Bhansali's film will clash with two other major Bollywood releases that weekend- Akshay Kumar's Padman and Manoj Bajpayee's Aiyaary. While there has been speculation about the clash for some time, trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the film's release date on Monday afternoon. 

Bhansali's film has been in the center of a massive controversy almost the greater part of 2017. Earlier called Padmavati, the film was scheduled for a December 1, 2017 release but its release was postponed by the makers after objections around the film took a political turn. As many as 5 states have banned the film including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. Fringe outfit Rajput Karni Sena and political leaders had appealed to Censor Board to screen the film first to a select audience and remove objectionable scenes around it. 

Only last week, CBFC invited a panel which included historians and former Royals to view the film and makers were asked to rename the film as Padmavat. In December, Bhansali had met a special Parliamentary committee and stated that the film was based on Jayasi's poem Padmavat. The film features Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in lead roles. 

The makers of the film- Viacom 18 and Bhansali Productions- have not made any official announcement yet.