Priyanka Chopra not in Italian Job

Abbas Mustan almost managed a casting coup, as Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra were to share the same frame in their remake of The Italian Job.
But we now hear that Priyanka has lost out on the role.

Buzz is that it is a consequence of the actress opting out of Rohan Sippy’s new film, starring Abhishek. Priyanka thought she would be cast opposite Abhishek, but ended up with South star Rana Daggubati instead. So, that’s when the actress decided to make an exit.

Perhaps Bachchan Jr, who is also part of the Italian Job, is not too pleased with her decision? Whatever the reason, Priyanka has lost out on The Italian Job remake as well.

A source says, “Priyanka was keen to work in Rohan Sippy’s film. They had worked together in Bluffmaster and wanted to be paired with him again, but it turned out to be a role with South star Rana Daggubati. So she chose to opt out, citing date problems. Rohan was aghast and grumbled about her to his friend Abhishek. This, in turn, upset Abhishek. Apparently, the actress chose to instead work in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Ek Bataa Saat.”

This incident was the last straw in the Abhishek-Priyanka relationship, which was already distressed. The source adds, “The cracks started developing in the Abhishek-Priyanka relationship over the last year. It all started with a tiff they had backstage over a performance. Then, Aishwarya Rai was miffed with Priyanka over a remark made by her on stage while accepting an award at a function. Since then, things have turned sour between the two. However, the final nail in the coffin was her backing out of the Rohan project, upsetting Abhishek to no end.”

The Italian Job stars Abhishek Bachchan, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Kunal Kapoor and Akshaye Khanna. Commenting on the star cast, the source says, “Abbas Mustan’s Italian Job is a huge film. The film’s casting has been in process since a long time. To avoid further issues, the makers have officially announced only Katrina Kaif’s name as of now. They are now considering Preity Zinta to replace Priyanka. Preity will make her comeback with this film in a completely new and sexy avatar.”

Priyanka’s manager was noncommittal. He says, “Nothing has been finalised with regards to The Italian Job. She has only signed Vishal Bhardwaj’s film at the moment. As for Rohan’s film, Priyanka has not even heard the script, so how can she opt out of the film?”