The dream collaboration of directors Sudhir Mishra and Prakash Jha, known for their hard-hitting films, will remain just that

The doyens of 'alternative' cinema Prakash Jha and Sudhir Mishra collaborating on a film about gender equations and sexual harassment in the corporate world may have been the talk of the town, but as it turns out, the two won't be working together after all.

The shooting of the film that stars Arjun Rampal and Chitrangda Singh started last Sunday, but instead of Jha producing it, the film has gone to Viacom 18.

According to sources, Mishra got tired of waiting for Jha to give the go ahead for the film. A source said, "Prakash had suggested the idea of the film to Sudhir.

They even worked on the script together. Sudhir believed Prakash had the business acumen and production know-how that he lacked.

But with Prakash getting busy with Aarakshan and now Satyagraha, Sudhir got tired of waiting. He found another producer." Jha and Mishra had been working on the project for six months.

When contacted, Mishra denied there were any rifts between the two. "It was an amicable parting. Prakash in fact suggested I go with Viacom as producers when they came forward. He said I didn't need him anymore."

Mishra added that Jha had contributed to the project and his contribution would be acknowledged in the credits.

In the film, Mishra is also going to cast Sushmita Mukherjee, his former wife. She will play the character of a committee head that probes charges of sexual harassment against Rampal's character.