Sohum Shah will no longer play the flamboyant playboy who seduces a simple chawl girl then walks away leaving her pregnant in the Katha remake being helmed by Khalid Mohamed. The role had been enacted brilliantly by the late Farooq Shaikh in the original cult classic directed by Sai Paranjpye in 1983.

Confirming this, Khalid told Mirror, “Sohum was still in the Tumbad mode and we mutually agreed that he could not get into the skin of Vasu's character which is a once-in-a-lifetime role. Sai would have slippered me if she was disappointed in any which way. We have got a replacement and, as they say, whatever happens happens for the best.“

Anjum Rizvi, who is putting the script together for the project, corroborated Khalid's statement, pointing out that Sohum couldn't postpone the climax shoot of his upcoming film Tumbad. And they had wanted to roll with the Katha remake on January 2. “So we amicably decided to part ways,“ he asserts.

According to a source, Sohum, the actor and producer of the National Award-winning Ship of Theseus, has been involved with Tumbad right from day one and has even invested in the period film set in the colonial era Maharashtra. “He had allotted dates for the climax of Tumbad in January. A huge set has been erected for the film which is being shot on a lavish scale. There was no way he could report for Katha in the early days of the first schedule,“ added the source.

A disappointed Sohum admitted to Mirror that he had been really excited about this role. “Farooq sir was one of my favourite actors and it would have been an honour to step into his shoes. Unfortunately, Tumbad is a prior commitment and the film requires a lot of my shooting dates,“ he sighed.