The fallout from the 'Wedding of the Year' seems to still be reverberating around Bollywood.
According to an Indian portal, it has now affected director Karan Johar. The 35-year-old director and talk show
host is caught between the rest of Bollywood and Amitabh Bachchan.
It has been nearly two months since his son Abhishek married Aishwarya Rai in a grand wedding, but
Amitabh's decision to leave out a large number of Bollywood's denizens from the nuptial guest list is still
stinging for some.
When Karan announced that he is casting Aishwarya and Abhishek in his new project - the duo is now
considered to be a box-office goldmine - his good friend and frequent collaborator, Shah Rukh Khan said he
wouldn't participate in the film.
The 42-year-old actor has worked on most of Karan's films under the
latter's company, Dharma Productions.
That decision could also be attributed to the simmering rivalry between Shah Rukh and the 64-year-old
Amitabh. There are also actors who don't want to work the newly weds for fear of being overshadowed by
them.
Meanwhile, a national newspaper reported that Saif Ali Khan, who had apparently agreed to work with
Aishwarya and Abhishek in the venture, has pulled out.
While his busy schedule was the official
reason, the Indian media speculated that the 36-year-old actor might have been afraid of having his star
diminished by the couple.
The newspaper cited an unnamed source who said, "The dates could have been adjusted. But (Saif) decided to
let go."
Monday, June 11, 2007 11:17 IST