Will play part in The Dirty Picture which Milan Luthria wanted Ajay Devgn to play

Though director Milan Luthria was keen to cast Ajay Devgn in The Dirty Picture, it is his Once Upon A Time co-star Emraan Hashmi who has landed the role.

Ekta Kapoor's movie, inspired by the life and times of the South bombshell Silk Smitha, has the serial kisser essaying the character of a pimp.

Says a source, "Milan wanted to work with Ajay Devgn again post 'Once Upon..'. He felt this was another project where he could display his acting prowess like in their earlier movie.

But during the casting call, Ekta felt Emraan suited the character too. Though she agreed to let the director finally take a call, things did not work out with Kajol's hubby. And ultimately Milan had to settle for the Bhatt camp's fixture."

Price issue

Apart from the character suitability, B-Town buzz is that the real reason why Devgn was not keen to be part of The Dirty Picture was the remuneration issue.

Adds the source, "He asked for an exorbitant price. The actor had received a huge fee for Once Upon ¦ and after its success Devgn felt he deserved even more. This would overshoot the project's budget. He also had reservations about his charater being a pimp. The makers then decided to cast Emraan instead."

However producer Ekta Kapoor maintains, "Casting for The Dirty Picture is in progress. I want to work with both Ajay and Emraan. Let's see which way it goes. We want both equally. But their dates and availability and of course their keenness are important."