Manjari Phadnis has stepped in instead of Amrita Rao in debutant director Ajit Sinha's upcoming film about a common man starring Shreyas Talpade. Ajit was earlier assisting filmmakers Indra Kumar and Ashok Thakeria. The replacement was necessitated after Amrita claimed on her micro-blogging site that it was untrue that she was part of the project.
Says a source, `The makers had been in talks with Amrita and she was to get back with her dates after which the memorandum of understanding was to be signed. They waited for Amrita for 25 days to get back.`
Producer Narendra Singh confirms, `It came as a shock to us when Amrita tweeted that she is not doing the film! This after confirming with the director that she would get back on the date schedule.`
As reported 'Shreyas, Amrita together' (Hitlist, January 9), the makers were keen to cast the Welcome to Sajjanpur pair once again in a film.
Adds Singh, `But we are now happy with this fresh casting. Shreyas and Manjari essay a Maharashtrian couple and as both are Maharashtrains they will be able to add the original lingo and do justice to their characters. We have already done a photo shoot with Shreyas dressed as a Peshwa and Manjari in a navvari sari. We begin shooting in Agra shortly.`
