Budget for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Love & War' tops ₹425 crore. Netizens say, 'Mughal-e-Azam ban rahi hai'

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directorial Love & War is nowhere close to wrapping up, as the film's shooting schedule has been extended by 50 days. With this, the production cost rose to over ₹425 crore, Variety India reported citing sources. 

The Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal-starrer love triangle was previously projected to wrap in 120 days, but timelines have been extended repeatedly, given Bhansali's reputation for perfection. 

The unit has already completed around 175 days of shooting, with 3 songs and a major dramatic sequence still pending, sources told the publication. 

“Bhansali strives for perfection and is not satisfied until every single frame matches his vision. That relentless commitment is what has made him the towering filmmaker he is today. But the repeated production extensions have ballooned the budget,” says a source. “Originally planned at ₹350 crore, the cost has now climbed to ₹425 crore, making it the most expensive Bhansali project to date.”

Does this budget include lead actors' fees?

This figure does not include the fees of its leading actors, who have chosen backend profit-sharing deals. This implies that they will draw remuneration from theatrical revenues instead of taking upfront payments. 

User reactions on Love & War budget

Soon after the report went viral on Reddit, users were quick to share their takes. While some were sarcastic, others wondered how the producers would recover such a huge budget for a love triangle. 

"Mughal e Azam ban rhi hai," a Redditor wrote. 

Another user said, "He doesn't know what he wants to cook. I don't know why producers don't put a cap on his budget."

A third user commented, "425 crores is crazy. How is he going to make that money back."

"Expecting a Part-1 and Part-2 split to try and match with Dhurandhar! Many movies that overshoot their budgets are now going to entice producers into the "split film into multiple parts" model (sic)," a fourth user said. 

"Bro is just remaking Pearl Harbour in his own way (sic)," a user wrote. 

"Movie is giving me a vibe of Sangam," yet another user commented.

What does the increased budget mean for Bhansali?

Even though Bhansali has self-financed the film, Saregama India came on board at a later stage. The director has already recovered around ₹200 crore from non-theatrical avenues, as per sources. 

Netflix has already acquired the film's post-theatrical streaming rights for around ₹130 crore and an additional ₹70-80 crore has been generated through music and satellite rights.