Bhansali avoids collision with Chennai Express

To avoid a repeat of the infamous 2007 box-office clash with SRK, the filmmaker has sought a safer release date for Ram Leela

Bhansali, who has burnt his fingers with box office clashes, seems to be playing safe this time around. His next Ram Leela starring Ranveer Singh andDeepika Padukone that was slated for a Dussehra release, is now being postponed, in order to avoid a head-on collision with Rohit Shetty's Chennai Express starring Shah Rukh Khan.

The filmmaker has decided his film will hit theatres not before November 29, couple of weeks after Krrish 3 releases. According to insiders, it is not as if Bhansali is not confident about Ram Leela. But, he is playing it safe — he doesn't want history to repeat itself. Readers may recall that in 2007, his ambitious film Saawariya that introduced bothRanbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, released on the same day as Farah Khan's Shah Rukh starrer Om Shanti Om, with the latter emerging a winner and Bhansali and SRK falling out with each other.

A source told TOI, "Bhansali and his team are very confident about Ram Leela. His lead pair Ranveer and Deepika has put in extra effort to ensure their performance is top notch. In fact, Ranveer has worked hard on his body while Deepika has undergone vigorous training in dancing. Sometime ago, Bhansali had even told his team to gear up for the big clash."

However, the scenario is different now. "Chennai Express is most likely to release during Dussehra in October. Though UTV and Shah Rukh have yet to finalise the date, Sanjay has gone ahead and decided November 29 as release date for the film. He doesn't want to repeat the same mistake that he made in 2007," said the source.