Not Shahid Kapoor, But Rajkummar Rao to Play the Lead in Imtiaz Ali's next?
Shahid Kapoor has pulled himself out of the project, and the makers have replaced him with Rajkummar Rao.
Jab We Met fans would have rejoiced over the news when it was speculated that Shahid Kapoor is working with director Imtiaz Ali again. It was reported that unlike JWM, this would not be a travel based movie, that has been a recurring aspect in every Imtiaz Ali film, instead, exploring a different facet. The movie was to begin shooting from last month, however, it got postponed as Shahid got busy with his other work commitments.
Now as per a report in PINKVILLA, Shahid Kapoor has pulled himself out of the project, and the makers have replaced him with Rajkummar Rao. A source close to the development told the website, "Shahid Kapoor was very excited about this film. He even gave a look test for this in November, last year. But then after that things didn't fall into place. There were some issues with the script and both Shahid and Imtiaz decided to put the movie on the backburner. However, now Shahid has completely pulled out of the movie. He has told Imtiaz that he cannot do it and has taken up other projects too. Imtiaz has accepted this decision and there are no ill feelings between the actor and the director."
Another source revealed to the publication that it was supposed to be a two-hero project, with Shahid being one hero, and Rajkummar being the other. Now Rajkummar Rao takes Shahid's role, while the makers are looking for someone to take on Rao's original role. The source said, "Imtiaz's movie is a two-hero project. So earlier, Shahid Kapoor was cast along with Rajkummar Rao. Now that Sasha is not doing the movie at all, Rao has stepped into Kapoor's role and the hunt for a replacement for Rao's original role is on. Meanwhile, Imtiaz is also working on the script and the changes it requires after Shahid Kapoor walking out of it and to suit the personality of Rajkummar Rao."
Shahid Kapoor will be seen next in the satire Batti Gul Meter Chalu. He has also confirmed to play the lead in the Arjun Reddy remake.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 25, 2018 05:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).