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Aryan shelved!

We had reported earlier about Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor walking out of Sohail Khan's Aryan. If insiders are to be believed, the reason behind this was the debacle of Khan's Hello Brother, starring brothers Salman and Arbaaz, along with Rani Mukherjee.

Producer Bunty Walia now confirms that not only have Abhishek and Kareena quit Aryan, but the film has been shelved altogether.

Is it true that Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor walked out of Aryan because your previous film, Hello Brother, did not do well at the box office?

The rumours are definitely not true. The reason Abhishek and Kareena could not do Aryan is because they were having date problems due to their commitments to Refugee. We wanted a start-to-finish shooting schedule and they could not commit to that, hence Aryan could not be shot with them.

So, what is the fate of Aryan now?

Aryan has been shelved. We are working on a new movie called Maine Dil Tujhko Diya starring Salman Khan, and we are looking for a fresh face to play the female lead.

The reason we want a fresh face is because we feel that, since Salman has worked with all the present set of actresses, it would be quite a novelty for him to star with a newcomer. This would also add to the curiosity factor. As for how we are going to find our leading lady, we have asked a few people to look around and the final decision will be taken after auditioning the likely candidates.

All I can say is that shooting for the movie is likely to start around June-July.

Wouldn't you be incurring losses as a result of shelving the film? You must have already spent on the sets, music and so on...

Everything has been settled and resolved. We did not begin shooting for the movie. However, a set was designed which we subsequently pulled down. As for the music, the songs that were composed will go into our music bank and will be used as and when deemed appropriate. Abhishek and Kareena have returned their respective signing amounts. So, as I mentioned earlier, all the financial aspects of Aryan have been worked out.

Will you consider Abhishek and Kareena for any future project?

Of course, this was just an unfortunate situation. Why should that alter anything? We would definitely consider working with them if they suit the roles in a film.

Lastly, don't you think the shelving of Aryan will adversely affect the credibility of your production company?

Not at all! There are so many films that are announced and then shelved for various reasons, under numerous circumstances. It is nothing unusual and nor is it something to be ashamed of. This does not affect us in a negative way.

Interviewed by Aparajita Saha