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| As things stand, Heroine winds up in September. And she is done with her bit in Talaash. And though, she has been one of the most in-demand stars in the business, Kareena has no project on her hand after that. Unless one considers Prakash Jha's Rajneeti sequel which may star her opposite Ajay Devgn.
A source that has watched the star closely over the year’s say’s that she wants to keep her options open. "She wants to straddle both the boats - personal and professional. She likes to say 'yes' to a project and then bides her time, to see how it shapes up. If it is not to her liking, she eventually turns it down. This way she can also give priority to her personal life and the long-due wedding". |
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| This way, say industry insiders, the actress ensures that whoever steps in after her, is branded the 'second choice.' The recent volte-face on the Bhansali film however has not gone down too well with a large section of the industry. And a friend of Kareena put up a strong defence, "Kareena decided not to do Bhansali's film simply because she couldn't adjust to his style of functioning. She felt that she might not have a very pleasant time during the making. Besides he wanted bulk dates of more than 100 days. That was impossible."
While her impending marriage has been cited as a reason for her turning down a few films, she is also acutely aware of competition and her need to retain her grip on the numbers. And her refusal to topline projects featuring not-so-successful colleagues is part of her strategy say insiders "Bebo is very particular about the star cast of her projects and her list of dos and don'ts. Remember how she got a certain lesser-known actor replaced in Heroine? Also, she had turned down Once Upon a Time's sequel because she did not want to do that Mandakni scene under the waterfall." points out a source. |
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| On the other hand, Kareena’s manager Zahid Khan has said that the insufficient pay offered to Kareena made her walk out of the film "We had fixed a lumpsum amount for a 100-day shoot and had clarified that if the director took more time than that, we would be compensated, on a per-day basis. Mr Bhansali was okay with it initially but later he asked for more days and didn't want to pay us extra for those days. We thought it's better to do three films in 150 days than just get stuck with one."
Kareena fumes that contrary to reports, she hasn't walked out of the film because of her impending marriage but because of date and money issues. The actress says, "I walked out a week ago. I had allotted 100 days for the shooting in August as per contract but Mr Bhansali wanted more days to shoot. My managers Reshma Shetty and Zahid Khan thought about it and decided it wasn't possible, as I have signed three new big films for next year. The shooting for one of them begins in October immediately after the release of Heroine. I've also given 32 days of promotional time for Heroine, as it's a very special film for me. That wouldn't have been possible if I had given those dates to Ram Leela."
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She further clarifies, "I am extremely ambitious and very career-oriented and my personal life has never come in the way of of my career. My not doing this film has nothing to do with my wedding. Everyone knows Saif and me have been together in a relationship for the last five years and such stories about me being replaced because I am getting married are floated by PR machineries on an overdrive! So people, just back off and let me focus on my work!"
While the actress said she had walked out from the Gujarati adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the filmmaker says he was the one to take the call not to work with her for this project "A Juliet no matter how far removed from Shakespeare's original vision of her cannot be a married woman. With images of her wedding festivities flashing all over, it would have been impossible for Kareena to pass herself as a Gujju Juliet despite her great talent," a source close to Bhansali said.
Initial mutual excitement over finally working together dissolved into doubts and misgivings "Sanjay holds no grudge against the actress although she was less than honest with him about her wedding plans. The parting was anything but acrimonious. Sanjay was surprised to read on Monday morning that Kareena had 'walked out' of Ram Leela. The truth is, this was building up for a long time. And money was the least of the problems. Sanjay was extremely keen to work with Kareena. He thinks she is an exceptional actress."
This is the third time Bhansali and Kareena have come 'this' close to working with each other. She was earlier offered Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas - both of which eventually starred Aishwarya. |
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