/> After Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na Abbas Tyrewala considers Naseeruddin Shah and his talented wife Ratna Pathak his luck mascots.

Though Naseer was just a photograph in Jaane Tu... the impact he created was awesome.

Ratna of course was more than an actor in Jaane Tu... She was a creative consultant who added considerably to the script. So it was with Abbas's new film soon to start shooting.

And naturally Abbas cast his favourite couple Naseer and Ratna in 1: 800 Love, again as husband and wife.

But even before the shooting of 1: 800 Love started one hears Naseer and Ratna are out of the film.

Have Abbas and the distinguished couple fallen out?

"Nothing of the sort, " laughs Abbas. "I had written roles specially for Ratna and Naseer.They were supposed to play a husband and wife, this time both alive and kicking. So the rumours that their roles would be reversed and Naseer would be talking to Ratna's portrait were completely wrong."

So what went wrong?

"Nothing, " says Abbas. "It's just that the shooting is in London and Ratna-Naseer were required for just four days. To have them fly down for that little work seemed selfindulgent on my part. And what if the weather got bad? I'd have had to make them stay over. Instead of putting them through these hardships I just deleted their roles from the script."

Now Ratna is on board as a script consultant. Abbas hopes to cast her and Naseer in far more pivotal roles in his next.