Upala KBR (DNA; September 28, 2016)

With Kareena Kapoor Khan going on maternity leave, Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal 4 has found itself without a lead actress. Shetty would automatically have then approached his second favourite leading lady Deepika Padukone in that case. However, she too is busy with Padmavati till next year. So, the decision was made to work with someone new. Alia Bhatt, Shraddha Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra’s names were in the fray.

Alia was the first choice, and she was keen to do the film. Says an insider, “Her business manager even met Rohit at his office and dates were discussed. All that remained was for her to sign the film. ” But after the Karan Johar-Ajay Devgn hostilities flared up, Alia suddenly became unavailable on the dates wanted by the G4 makers. “It was put across to them that Alia was busy with Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya and was to sign another biggie by the end of the year and then start shooting for Abhishek Varman’s Shiddat with Varun Dhawan from March next year, so she didn’t have any dates for the Devgn starrer,” adds the source.

The Bhatt girl’s volte-face is an apparent fallout of the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil-Shivaay clash. Karan was all for his protégée working with Rohit Shetty. Infact, the director is to direct a film for KJo’s banner, so there was no problem there, so it’s unlikely that he advised the Bhatt girl to leave the film. “Regardless of Karan asking her to be part of G4 or not, it was the only logical outcome. She owes her career to Karan and her loyalties lie with him. How could she work with Ajay after his clash with KJo went ‘nuclear’?,” says the source

While there has been talk of Shraddha filling in for Bebo in one of Bollywood’s most successful franchises, there has been no announcement yet. And here’s why. Another insider reveals, “Rohit and AJ will only finalise the leading lady after Shivaay’s release. Right now, only talks are on and various possibilities are being discussed. They want to make a big announcement as the film rolls in January next year.”