Hrithik Roshan had been having second thoughts about doing Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut Kismat Talkies. It's now official: Roshan Jr has opted out of Zoya's film.

As if that wasn't bad enough, co-star Kareena Kapoor too has given the project a miss.

Producer Ritesh Sidhwani (who runs Excel Entertainment along with partner and Zoya's brother Farhan Akhtar) had earlier told us that they would start filming in May 2007 as Kareena had given dates from then on, but then Hrithik started demanding changes in the script making Zoya go hunting for a new hero. It is learnt that she spoke to Akshay Kumar, but he too gave her the cold shoulder.

Apparently Kareena had allotted the same dates to Socha Na Tha director Imtiaz Ali's next film. A source says, "Once Hrithik opted out, Kareena decided not to do the film either.

When contacted, Imtiaz excused himself from telling us when he is starting his film with Kareena. "I am sitting with some people. Let's talk later," he said.

The source adds, "Things haven't been easy for Zoya from the time she planned the film. She was supposed to make her debut with a film titled Luck — By Chance in 2004. Unfortunately, the film never took off.

But her tone clearly suggested that she was in no mood to defend the actors who have given her so much anxiety. them.

Kareena remained unavailable for comments.