The female casting for Milan Luthria's upcoming multi-starrer project 'Baadshaho' has been quite iffy. Initially, Kareena Kapoor Khan was rumoured to have been signed opposite Ajay Devgn, but the makers denied the buzz. Recent reports claimed that Priyanka Chopra was being considered for the film. However, that too didn't materialise. Now, our sources claim that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been approached to play the leading lady.
Says a source working on the project, "The makers have met Aishwarya a couple of times and are waiting for a go-ahead from her. She has liked the script and just might sign the film. If all goes well, Ash and Ajay will reunite on the big screen almost 12 years after their last films together, 'Raincoat' and 'Khakee' (both 2004)."
Interestingly, this year, Ajay's directorial venture 'Shivaay' will clash with Aishwarya-starrer 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' during Diwali. As far as the parallel leads are concerned, names of Shruti Haasan, Lisa Haydon and Nargis Fakhri did the rounds, but eventually, Esha Gupta was signed.
So far, Ajay, Esha and Vidyut Jammwal (who replaced Pulkit Samrat) have been signed. "The rest of the star cast has been locked and once Ash's confirmation comes to us, an official announcement shall be made," adds the source.
A 2017 Republic Day release has been locked by the makers. When contacted, Lutharia refused to divulge details about the recent developments. "I will not comment on any casting speculation. Official announcements will only be made by Bhushan Kumar and me," he said in a text message.