Find out if Shah Rukh Khan will play Alauddin Khilji in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Padmavati'?

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next, which has tentatively been titled "Padmavati," is grabbing quite a few headlines courtesy its casting speculations. Reports suggest Shah Rukh Khan will essay the role of Alaudin Khilji in it, whereas Ranveer Singh the good guy, but there are conflicting narratives about the same.

A source told DNA, that the film is a heroine-centric one, which is why SRK will give it a miss. And because Deepika Padukone is being considered for the female lead, Ranveer will probably be happy to take it up and wouldn't mind not being at the centre of the period film. The insider, however, added that the 50-year-old actor will be doing another film with Sanjay.

Elaborating further, a trade analyst told the daily that SRK will not be part of "Padmavati" because he has done anti-hero roles before — "Baazigar," "Darr," "Anjaam," "Duplicate," "Don," "Don 2," and more recently, "Fan."

"Also, he has two films to start. Imtiaz Ali's next as well as Aanand L Rai's dwarf film. SLB has already announced the release date of Padmavati for next year, which means the shooting should start this year. SRK simply doesn't have the dates for it," the expert added.

Meanwhile, what's interesting is, there are reports, which claim that Salman Khan will play the powerful Sultan (Alauddin) in Sanjay's upcoming film. "He is set to tell the tale of the greatest Sultan of Hindustan and his obsessive love for the legendary queen, Padmavati, who was known for her beauty, intellect and courage. It has been tentatively titled 'Padmavati.' He had earlier directed an opera based on the same subject, which was highly appreciated in Paris and Rome," a source told Mid-Day.

"Padmavati" will arrive in theatres on Dec. 15, 2017. At this point, all this is a mere speculation; there has been no official announcement yet.