Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; June 23, 2017)

John Abraham will finish shooting for Parmanu – The Story Of Pokhran, alongside Diana Penty, in a few weeks. The actor was supposed to start shooting for the production house, Kriarj Entertainment’s next project, an actioner, co-produced by Aamir (2008) and No One Killed Jessica (2011) director, Raj Kumar Gupta. However, mid-day has learnt that Abraham, who was also backing the project, has walked out of the film, tentatively titled Chor Nikal Ke Bhaaga, due to creative differences with Gupta.

A source says, “The film was to go on the floors next month, but it has now been pushed to the end of the year. Actor Rajkummar Rao has been roped in instead. Since Rao is currently sporting the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose look for Hansal Mehta’s film, the makers will have to wait. Meanwhile, Gupta, who was left in a spot after Abraham’s exit, has found a major studio to back his movie.”

When contacted, Gupta said, “I was co-producing the film with John. But we are not doing the film together now. I am making it with another studio.”

We tried contacting Prernaa Arora of Kriraj Entertainment and Abraham, but they remained unavailable for comment.