Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; December 30, 2017)

Priyanka Chopra, who’s not had a single Hindi release in more than a year, is planning two productions. After Hrs was the first to tell you that for one of the films, she needed an A-list heroine to do five to six scenes. She was finding it difficult to cast the lead actress because no one was willing to do just a few scenes in the movie that revolved around kids and stray dogs with a message. She had also expressed her displeasure at how Indian actresses should take a cue from Hollywood bigwigs, who never bat an eyelid to do even two scenes in a special project.

We have now learnt that Piggy Chops recently met Alia Bhatt to discuss the role. Says a source, “Speculations were rife that the duo met to discuss a film where they will be seen together, but actually Priyanka bounced off the idea of her project to Alia. The latter has liked the story but is yet to give her nod.” We sent a text to Alia but she chose not to respond.

Alia seems to be the perfect fit for the role because at heart, like PC, she’s an animal lover too. Earlier this year, she even announced an ecological initiative called Coexist, which aims to reduce the man-animal conflict by raising awareness about the issue. Adds our source, “Alia and Priyanka are extremely fond of each other. Plus this is a story that Alia herself pledges her support to. But the only problem are her dates. Alia already has her date diary full with Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy, Abhishek Varman’s next, Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra, along with the release of Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi.”

Will Alia say yes to PC? Will Priyanka wait for Alia to finish all her commitments? Or will she act in the movie herself? Watch this space...