While it has been widely reported that Kangna Ranaut opted out of Ram Gopal Varma's Department to do Vishal Bhardwaj's sequel of Ishqiya, there seems to be more to her exit than meets the eye.
The latest is that she was ousted from RGV's movie for declining two films with Sanjay Dutt (who plays the lead in Department).
And that's also why she apparently wasn't invited for his wife Maanayata's birthday party last month, though they are believed to be good friends.
A well-paced source reveals that the first movie Kangna refused with Dutt was his next home production, the remake of Satte Pe Satta.
"Even though she gets along very well with Sanjay, Kangna felt that she should space out her films with him, lest they get too repetitive, " says our informer, adding that this refusal wasn't taken too unkindly by the Dutt camp.
Not made for Kangs
However, when Kangna rejected Happily Divorced the Dutts got super upset. This film is produced by Dharam Oberoi (who handles Kangna and Sanjay's work) in association with Sanjay Ahluwalia. "Unfortunately, Kangna felt that somewhere the role didn't suit her.
So she conveyed her reservations to the producers and politely declined the film, " explains our source, adding that this second refusal could have caused this fallout.
While Kangna was unavailable for comment, a close friend of hers points out that the actor has worked with Sanjay in three films Knock Out, Double Dhamaal and Rascals.
"Kangna has very high regard for Sanjay as an actor. It's true that she was offered Satte Pe Satta and Happily Divorced, but she was unavailable to do them for various reasons.
Nonetheless, she would love to work with Sanjay again whenever possible. "
Can't be a bhabhi
On his part, Dharam Oberoi asserts that she was never considered for the Satte Pe Satta remake.
"How could she have passed off as the bhabhi of other actors?" he counters, adding that he has signed Kangna for Happily Divorced.
"I have paid her R 25 lakh as signing amount. But the project has been on hold for some time now. "
As far as the actress not being invited for any of Sanjay and Maanayata's parties last month, Oberoi maintains, "The guest list was decided by them and I have no say in it. "
As for her ouster from Department, he asserts, "Ram Gopal Varma will be the best person to talk about it. "