Will opt out of Raj Kumar Santoshi's Power so he can play baddie in Mission Impossible 4

Anil Kapoor is playing a "grey character" in the Hollywood production Mission Impossible 4.

But before that, he has the unenviable task of becoming a bad man off-screen and opting out of Raj Kumar Santoshi's Power.

Kapoor was cast as the main villain in Power. Shooting is yet to begin.

It was his first ever out-and-out negative role and he'd begun preparations for his part with gusto.

Then came the offer to play a negative role in MI4 and now AK is no longer excited about playing the baddie in the B-Town flick.

A bit of a stretch

Says a source, "To play negative characters in two films to be shot almost simultaneously appears a bit of a stretch to him.

Ideally, he would've chosen just one of the two projects with negative roles. But now, he has to find a way to opt out of Power."

It is time for the actor to walk the talk (he has always maintained that B-Town matters far more to him than Hollywood and international success).

To compound the actor's dilemma, Santoshi is the man who got him his only National award for his performance in Pukar. All eyes are on the Slumdog Millionaire actor to see how he will work his way out of this situation.

Says Santoshi, "So far Anil has not communicated any reluctance to do the role. Until he tells me he is not doing it, he is doing it. Yes, he plays a negative part.

But I'm sure we can work a way out to avoid a clash with Mission Impossible."

Teesra angle

Anil co-stars with Ajay Devgn in Tez as well as Power. In Tez, AJ plays the badman, while in Power, Anil is the villain.

A solution being heard is that Anil might swap roles with Devgn in Power. One thing is for sure, though. Anil will find a way out and make this Mission Impossible possible.