Saif-John rivalary has now taken a professional turn as well. After chhote Nawab's refusal, Karan Johar's plum offer (to be directed by his assistant Tarun Mansukhani) has landed in John's lap.

The offical reason behind Saif's exit is his dates prblem but the fact is that Mansukhani's directorial debut is a romantic comedy with gay overtones, hence Saif has rejected it.

His role is similar to that of John Ritter in the American sitcom Three's Company, where his character has to pretend to be gay so that his prudish landlord permits him to live with female flatmates."

The source adds that Saif initially agreed to the film, but changed his mind later.

Mansukhani, who has been a Dharma loyalist for the last 10 years, obviously dismisses the gay overtones in his film.

He simply says, "My film is about two boys and a girl. That's all I will say. Saif is not doing the film because he has no dates.