Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 7, 2014)

His character, Ranvir Singh, is the face of the Race franchise and Saif Ali Khan could still be a part of Race 3. But, following financial differences, another project, being helmed by Ramesh Taurani, may not work out with Saif in the lead. The film, to be directed by Mohit Suri, was supposed to roll in mid-2014. But buzz is, differences have cropped up over money matters between the actor and the filmmaker.

According to a source close to the development, the bone of contention was a difference of Rs 6 crore. Saif wanted Rs 16 crore as his remuneration but Taurani was ready to pay just Rs 10 crore, plus a percentage profit subject to realisation. Said the source, “They could not arrive at an agreement over the price and now Taurani has decided to go ahead with the film but without Saif.”

On the price issue, the Nawab of Pataudi was surprisingly frank, “Yes, it’s true, the price Taurani was offering me was too low.” But Saif insisted that Taurani had not asked him to opt out and he could still be doing the film.

However, he later contradicted himself by saying he wanted to give the dates he’d allotted Taurani to a film made under his banner, Illumanati Films, and had contacted Mohit for it. “But that will be a different film,” he quickly added. “And Rameshji is looking for someone else for his film.”

When contacted, Taurani asserted, “We have not yet finalised the cast.”

Meanwhile, according to the source, Saif could still continue with the Race series despite the fallout of sorts. “Mohit’s film and Race 3 are two different films with different budgets. So, not doing one film may not cost Saif the other,” he reasoned.