/> Ranveer Singh seems to be going through a rough patch in his career. He first loses the role in Bombay Velvet to Ranbir Kapoor in what can only described as an overnight changeover, and then suffers a rather serious back injury on location in Dalhousie for Lootera which the producers are trying hard to play down.

But the facts regarding Ranveer's back injury are rather grim

Says a source very close to Lootera, "The injury is certainly not minor. Back injuries during action sequences seldom are. Ranveer has been prescribed complete bed rest to ensure that his back problem doesn't get chronic, the way it did for Sunny Deol and Akshay Kumar. "

The actor most immediately affected by Ranveer's injury is Sonakshi Sinha whose choc-a-block date diary can hardly take such a sudden setback.

According to sources, the producers of Lootera are looking at an indefinite postponement of the entire snow schedule which occupies the second-half of the plot.

Says a source, "The Kashmir schedule of Lootera was to happen in January. But the snowfall was so dense this year that the schedule was postponed to a time when the snow in Dalhousie would be more manageable. Now when the crew returned to Dalhousie to shoot the snow portions of the plot, the injury happened. "

Now apparently Lootera would have to wait for the next year's snowfall before the second-half can be shot.

Another option being examined is to shoot in a studio in artificial snowfall.

Says a source, "In fact doing so is strongly recommended to director Vikramaditya Motwane by his erstwhile mentor Sanjay Leela Bhansali who had to return from Shimla from a schedule of Black without shooting in the snow, as real snow congeals on the camera lens.

In fact it's amazing how the makers of Lootera thought they could shoot in heavy snowfall for such a long spell. It's not just health hazard for the crew but just not a camera-friendly thing to do. "

So would Lootera be shot in artificial studio-induced snow?

Not quite. Because by the time Ranveer Singh is up and about a ready to shoot (a process that may take anything from 2 to 4 months) Sonakshi would be shooting elsewhere. Once Ranveer recuperates he starts shooting with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Kareena Kapoor for Ram Leela. "

This leaves Lootera in a bleak spot, present tense, future most imperfect.

We tried getting in touch with Ranveer and then his business manager. Both remained unavailable for comment.