Priyanka ousted from the desi remake of ‘The Italian Job’

Spicezee Bureau Mumbai: Bollywood siren Priyanka Chopra may still be riding high on the BO success of ‘Kaminey’ but her choosy ways have cost her a plum acting assignment. According to the latest bollywood news, Priyanka Chopra has just lost a crucial role in Abbas Mustan’s remake of ‘The Italian Job,’ reason being she declined Rohan Sippy’s film starring Abhishek Bachchan! Grapevine has it that Abbas Mustan eyed both Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra for the female lead in the remake of ‘The Italian Job.’ Eventually, it was Priyanka who lost out on the role. It is being believed that Priyanka opted out of Sippy’s Abhishek Bachchan starrer because she was being paired opposite Southern star Rana Daggubati rather than Abhi in the film. Talking to a news daily, a close source said, “Priyanka was keen to work in Rohan Sippy’s film. They had worked together in ‘Bluffmaster’ and Priyanka wanted to be paired with Abhi 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 work in Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Ek Bataa Saat’ instead.” Incidentally, this episode was the last nail in an already sour Abhishek-Priyanka relationship. “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,” added the source. The Indian remake of Hollywood blockbuster ‘The Italian Job’ stars Abhishek Bachchan, Kunal Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Akshaye Khanna. Talking about the actors, the source continued, “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.” On the other hand, Priyanka’s manager 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?”