Kareena Vs Deepika
MIL/Agencies, Jan 4, 2008.
January 4, 2008 - After much speculations of Imtiaz Ali's next project Jab We Met fame has cast Deepika Padukone instead of Kareena. The movie is to be Saif Ali Khan's first production and to the actor's dismay, director Imitiaz Ali has finalised newcomer Deepika Padukone for the role and not Khan's lady love Kareena Kapoor.
A close source to Saif spoke to Mid-Day and confirmed the rumours and also stated that there was quite a lot of tension between Saif and Imitiaz regarding the heroine selection. Saif had expected Imitiaz to finalise Kareena as he had already worked with her but the actor-now-turning-producer was very surprised when Imitiaz announced that his lady love was perhaps not the best choice.
Unfortunetly Saif had to give in to what was best for the movie according to the director. Kareena Kapoor also doesn't seem to peachy about this decision since she also expected to be chosen for the project. Mid-day's source also states that ideally Saif would have wanted his first production project to star himself and Kareena.
To settle the rumours and speculations Mid-day managed to get a few lines from the director himself. “It's very simple. Deepika suits the role. Kareena who is my absolute favourite, does not. Fortunately or unfortunately, my fondness for an actor is not the criteria for casting. I cannot cast Kareena wrongly, not after casting her so perfectly as Geet in Jab We Met. I'm sure I'll write a role for her in my next film and happily queue up outside her door for her dates.”
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