The first film to be affected by this change is Ram Gopal Varma's Department

Amitabh Bachchan will longer do cameos and special appearance, for friends or otherwise. The first film to be affected by this change is Ram Gopal Varma's Department.

The Big B who was earlier supposed to play a relatively small yet powerful role in the film. Now he isn't just the leading man, he also has action sequences planned for him.

Says the source, "Mr Bachchan's role of a gangster-turned politician is now central to the plot in Department. It always was, actually.

But now more scenes have been written. There will be far more visibility for him now."

Some believe that the remarks Varma allegedly passed against Jr B (Abhishek) went a long way in Big B's role being re-written in a footage-friendly fashion.

Varma maintains, "Mr Bachchan's role is as substantial as what he deserves and what is required of him. I begin shooting at the end of June.

I've begun pre-production work on Department. My crew is now handling post-production of Not A Luv Story."

After Puri Jagannath's Bbuddah, which opens in July, it is central roles for the Big B all the way.