Kedarnath: Ronnie Screwvala Replaces KriArj Entertainment as Producer for Sushant Singh Rajput-Sara Ali Khan's Film; Movie to Release in 2019?

Kedarnath is on, guys, and any rumour that the movie is shelved has to be debunked by now. However, the movie's shoot has been put on hold with both the lead stars moving on to other projects. Sushant Singh Rajput is currently shooting for Abhishek Chaubey's dacoit saga Sonchiraiya, while Sara Ali Khan  who was supposed to make her debut with Kedarnath, has signed on Simmba opposite Ranveer Singh, which now could be her debut.

Kedarnath was in trouble over the clash between its director Abhishek Kapoor and the co-producer KriArj Entertainment, headed by Prernaa Arora. The main bone of contention was the release date schedule with Abhishek Kapoor insisting on releasing the movie on December 21, making it clash with Shah Rukh Khan's Zero. As KriArj was against the move, it lead to a war of words. KriArj also accused the director of making the movie go over-budget in the first schedule itself. Things became so bad, that the movie was almost considered to be shelved. But there is light at the end of the tunnel for the movie.

In an interesting development, producer Ronnie Screwvala has bought the movie from KriArj Entertainment, thereby bringing the project back to life. Apparently, he saw some rushes of the movie and was very impressed with what Kapoor has shot till now. Mumbai Mirror quotes a source close to the project saying, "When Ronnie saw footage from Kedarnath, he loved it and has decided to back the film. He has paid Bhushan and Prernaa around Rs 14 crore and Ekta approximately Rs 8 crore for their investment in the film and has now completely taken over the film along with Abhishek. Everything was settled amicably and Abhishek can’t wait to start shooting again."

The producer himself confirmed this as he spoke to the newspaper. Praising the movie, Ronnie said, "Kedarnath is a great love story set against the backdrop of the powerful true-life event that affected us all during the floods in 2013. It completely matches my vision of great stories that need to be told and I can’t wait to bring this story to the audiences early next year."

Going by that last sentence, we can say for sure that Kedarnath will not release on December 21 as planned. Which is a good move, since a rushed production at this stage would only lead to a bad movie.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 12, 2018 11:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).