Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; March 25, 2014)

Abbas-Mustan were supposed to direct the remake of the hit South film, Vettai, but the latest buzz has it that they have now quit the project.

The rights to the remake have been bought over by Disney India, and Karan Johar has come on board as a co-producer. The film has already faced casting woes with several stars refusing to be a part of the project.

A well- placed source informs us, “The project is still in the pre-production stage. Initially, roles were offered to Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Ali Zafar, Ileana D’Cruz, Sonakshi Sinha and Shahid Kapoor, but none signed on the dotted line. Eventually, the film got delayed, and now filmmakers Abbas-Mustan are no longer part of the same.”

It is being said that the directors are looking to start a new project instead of wasting any more time on Vettai. “We had discussed the remake with the production house three years ago. At that time, we had suggested that John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan be cast in the film. But both actors were planning to start work on Dostana 2. So we decided to wait till later. Now we have another project with Disney India.”

The official spokesperson for Disney India was not available for comment.