"We were supposed to finish 'Saamna' last year in May-June but it had to take a backseat because Santoshi's other film 'Family' starring Amitabh Bachchan got delayed due to problems in Bachchan's family. 'Family' was launched first so it had to be completed first," Ash's secretary Hari Singh told.
"By the time Santoshi wrapped it up there weren't any dates available with Aishwarya, as a result she had to opt out of the film."
Aishwarya is one of the busiest actresses in Bollywood and has six films lined for release this year, including three in Hollywood - Paul Berges' "Mistress of Spices", Jagmohan Mundra's "Provoked" and Doug Lefler's "The Last Legion".
And the Bollywood releases include J.P. Dutta's "Umrao Jaan", Yash Raj Films' "Dhoom 2" and Mani Ratnam's untitled film.
Ash is in Jaipur right now shooting for "Umrao Jaan". "The film is almost 30 to 35 percent complete," said Hari Singh.