Is Shah Rukh Khan not a man of his words?

Spicezee Bureau

Mumbai: Bankable and touted as the most reliable star of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan ditched the hopes of an aspiring director who apparently was working under his home banner. Industry sources confirms that SRK assured Vishal Punjabi of financial backing for his project, but now it has emerged that the actor has refused to oblige his promise. SRK after initially assuring Vishal a bright career in Bollywood backed out from his word. After being closely associated with SRK for nearly seven years, Punjabi has resigned and is not a part of SRK’s company anymore. The resignation has sent shock waves in the industry. Grapevine has it that Punjabi put in his papers because SRK did not fulfill a promise he made to him once: that of allowing Punjabi to direct a film, based on Anuja Chauhan’s novel ‘The Zoya Factor’ which Red Chillies Entertainment would produce. Talking to a daily, a source said, “Punjabi has been wanting to direct a film for a long time. For five years, SRK had been telling Punjabi that he would support him in making this film. With time, SRK gradually backed out of it. Whenever Punjabi would try and negotiate with him, they never reached a common consensus.” Fed up of waiting, Punjabi has now chosen to look for a producer outside Red Chillies Entertainment. When asked about SRK’s promise to Punjabi, a Red Chillies official said “We are not aware of this. That’s between SRK and Punjabi. How can anybody else comment on that? Only SRK can throw more light on it.”