Estranged or not, Deepika and Ranveer won't shoot together for Padmavati

Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone

For quite some time now, tongues have been wagging about the current relationship status of Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. Amid heightened speculation of a split, the actor slipped into the role of Alauddin Khilji for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's costume drama, Padmavati.

A few days later, Deepika made her first international red carpet outing at the EMAs. Although back in town, she didn't join Ranveer on set for the first schedule, which got over yesterday, according to production sources.

Word from the unit is that there are very few scenes between the two. "Such is the demand of the story," a production source tells us, adding, "They won't be shooting together in the film's first schedule. Deepika will join us only by this month-end and by then, Ranveer will get busy with promotions of his next, Befikre."

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Most of Ranveer's scenes were shot at Film City whereas Deepika will primarily stick to the Mehboob Studios set.
Though sources had suggested that ample ‘dream sequences' were planned to showcase Ranveer-Deepika's chemistry, sources close to Bhansali deny it. "Ranveer's obsession will have to be derived solely from his performance," a unit hand says. Since the filmmaker is a stickler for authenticity, he will keep the script close to reality.

"They are not romantically paired opposite each other in the film. There is no romantic song or scene between them in the narrative of the film, or even a dream sequence. In fact, there is no interaction between Khilji and Padmavati. This is written history and cannot be tampered with," sources from the production team point out.