Exclusive: Deepika, Ranveer Singh act estranged for Padmavati?

In what could be a historic move to preemptively halt the march of negative publicity, the makers of the Rs 165 crore magnum opus Padmavati have instructed lead actors Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone to steer clear of each other in public.

As the pair is said to be in a relationship, this diktat has been quite hard on them. “But both Ranveer and Deepika are totally committed to Padmavati, and its director Sanjay Leela Bhansali,†says a source close to the development. “This is their third film with Bhansali, and both Ranveer and Deepika feel that Padmavati will take their respective careers to another level, just like Goliyon ki Raasleela Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani did. And even otherwise, both Ranveer and Deepika are very close to Bhansali. They would agree to anything the filmmaker asks them to do, to make sure that the film is made and released on time in November 2017.â€

Following protests during the location shooting in Jaipur and Kolhapur, emergency measures were implemented, to ensure that further delays and damages were avoided. This is where the decision to ask the couple to stay apart came in.

Says the source, “In their personal space, the two continue to share a very comfortable relationship. There was some strain in their relationship in between, when both of them were busy shooting in different parts of the world Ranveer in Paris for Befikre and Deepika in LA for xXx. It was also being said that Ranveer resented Deepika's continuing closeness with her old friend Ranbir Kapoor. However, the two are very much in love and pretending to be estranged for the sake of the film. In fact, Deepika ignores Ranveer completely in public, leading to people assuming that they've split. They make separate entries into parties, and mingle only when the cameras are not watching. And when a photographer clicks them together, they get very upset.â€