With Priyanka Chopra opting out of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s biopic on the love that bonded poet Sahir Ludhianvi and author Amrita Pritam, it is time for the project to get a quick casting re-shuffle.
Without wasting time, SLB has gone to his other favourite - in fact his most favourite actress - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play Amrita Pritam to Abhishek Bachchan’s Sahir Ludhianvi.
The Sahir-Amrita biopic to be directed by debutante Jasmeet Reen will go on the floors early next year. This would be the 9th film to bring Aishwarya and Abhishek together. The first time they co-starred was in Rohan Sippy’s Kuch Na Kaho in 2003. We saw the real-life couple together last in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan in 2010.
Bhansali and Aishwarya have come together in Hum…Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Guzaarish. Aishwarya was supposed to do the item song in Ram Leela but opted out because the lyrics of the song were originally Thappad se nahin pyar se darr lagta hai, Salman Khan’s signature line in Dabangg. Ironically Priyanka had replaced Aishwarya for the item song in Ram Leela.
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