Did male superstars reject Deepika Padukone’s Padmavati for its female-centric story?

According to a report, many popular male actors in Bollywood offered to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Padmavati provided he made changes to the film and make it look less female-centric.

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali chose to work with Deepika Padukone for a third time (after Goliyon Ki Raasleela-Raamleela and Bajirao Mastani) on his next directorial venture, Padmavati. However, he took a long time to finalise on the male lead actors: Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali chose to stick with Deepika and not make any changes.

Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh in Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ramleela.

According to a report in DNA, the delay was caused because many lead male actor in the industry refuse to join the project as they thought the film had a female lead character. The reports quotes film critic Rajeev Masand who says “Bhansali stuck with his leading lady even after top male stars offered to star in it if the director was willing to change the title to sound less like it revolved around the heroine. Deepika is returning the favour by standing firmly by Bhansali’s side, focusing solely on Padmavati, even as her co-actors Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor are dividing their time between Bhansali’s set and ad-films, appearances, and the like.”

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