Mirror was the first to report (November 27) that Vir Das, Sharman Joshi and Zarine Khan will be seen in a film titled Nonsense to be helmed by debutant Ashwin Shetty.

Now we have learnt that Vir is no longer part of the project. Although the makers wanted somebody with great comic timing, they were baffled by the large paycheque Vir asked for. “Despite days of negotiations, a figure couldn't be agreed upon. And eventually they had to let go of the actor,“ says a source close to the development. “It made sense for them to look for a more economical alternative. Manish Paul fits the bill.“

The film will be shot in Mauritius and will see the popular TV host play a NGO worker.

When we quizzed Vir about leaving the project over remuneration, he said, “I don't want to comment on this.“

However, the film's producer Sandeep Singh told Mirror, “Vir is a good actor but we couldn't just agree on dates and the price. I've known Manish for years. He's very talented. We start shooting with him in April.“

Just a few days ago, Manish replaced Sohum Shah in Khalid Mohamed's Katha remake.