While it has already been reported that Anushka Shetty will not be doing Singam (allegedly because of non-availability of dates) and that South actress Kajal Aggarwal has stepped into her shoes, what is not known is the drama that transpired behind the scenes between the film's director, Rohit 'Golmaal' Shetty, and his favourite actor, Ajay Devgn, who plays the lead in Singam.
Shetty and Devgn almost had a spat based on the casting of the film. The bone of contention: Mahesh Bhatt's discovery Kangna Ranaut, who has of late become Devgn's favourite.
The success of Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, in which Devgn and Kangna played a couple, has made the actor recommend her to many filmmakers. So after Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, Kangna and Devgn signed Tez and Rascals.
Said a source close to the film, "Post Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, Kangna Ranaut and Devgn share a great rapport.
He has been insisting on Kangna for many of his projects, including David Dhawan's Rascals and Priyadarshan's Tez too."
However, while Dhawan was more understanding of Devgn's preference for Kangna, Shetty would not quite come around to this recommendation, since he had Kareena Kapoor in mind.
Our source said, "Shetty wanted to cast Kareena Kapoor, with whom he has scored two back-to-back hits via Golmaal Returns and Golmaal 3."
Kareena it turns out did not have the dates for the film. And Devgn, despite hectic lobbying, could not convince Shetty about the alternative that was laid out to him, i.e. Kangna.
He was quite clear that even though Devgn is the lead star of the film he cannot dictate casting terms to him, says sources.
The role, according to Shetty, required somebody else, not Devgn's muse. This created significant tension between director and actor.
Eventually Kajal Aggarwal turned out to be the winner in this tug of war, because somewhere along the line Devgn blinked.
Devgn did not revert. When contacted, Rohit said, "We were always looking for a new face, so top actors like Kangna were never in the picture."
Shetty and Devgn almost had a spat based on the casting of the film. The bone of contention: Mahesh Bhatt's discovery Kangna Ranaut, who has of late become Devgn's favourite.
The success of Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, in which Devgn and Kangna played a couple, has made the actor recommend her to many filmmakers. So after Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, Kangna and Devgn signed Tez and Rascals.
Said a source close to the film, "Post Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, Kangna Ranaut and Devgn share a great rapport.
He has been insisting on Kangna for many of his projects, including David Dhawan's Rascals and Priyadarshan's Tez too."
However, while Dhawan was more understanding of Devgn's preference for Kangna, Shetty would not quite come around to this recommendation, since he had Kareena Kapoor in mind.
Our source said, "Shetty wanted to cast Kareena Kapoor, with whom he has scored two back-to-back hits via Golmaal Returns and Golmaal 3."
Kareena it turns out did not have the dates for the film. And Devgn, despite hectic lobbying, could not convince Shetty about the alternative that was laid out to him, i.e. Kangna.
He was quite clear that even though Devgn is the lead star of the film he cannot dictate casting terms to him, says sources.
The role, according to Shetty, required somebody else, not Devgn's muse. This created significant tension between director and actor.
Eventually Kajal Aggarwal turned out to be the winner in this tug of war, because somewhere along the line Devgn blinked.
Devgn did not revert. When contacted, Rohit said, "We were always looking for a new face, so top actors like Kangna were never in the picture."
