Vidya Balan's Begum Jaan coincidence

Vidya Balan’s next Begum Jaan was to be the first release of 2017. Choosing the date (January 6) was considered a courageous move, given that traditionally, the first release of the year has a poor run. In fact, Vidya’s own No One Killed Jessica was a rare exception when it was the first release of 2011.

Well, as things stand today, a reshuffle is in order. The film will now release on March 17. “That’s correct,” confirms our source, “There is no rush here.”

The new date is doubly special as it coincides with the five-year anniversary of Kahaani, Vidya’s second biggest hit (after The Dirty Picture). Our source adds, “Kahaani was the film that proved to be a major milestone in Vidya’s career and also brought a definite turnaround for her. In fact, after its release, it turned out to be the highest-grossing female-centric film. The record was only equalled by Queen (2014) two years later by Kangana Ranaut.”

There is a Bengal connection between both the films. While Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani was based in Kolkata, Begum Jaan is an official adaptation of Srijit Mukherji’s Bengali film Rajkahini.

Incidentally, Begum Jaan is releasing a week after Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt-starrer Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya (March 10) and a couple of weeks before Anushka Sharma and Diljit Dosanjh’s Phillauri (March 31).