The last few days there were several rumours about Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s project Ram Leela. His leading lady, Kareena Kapoor, would have apparently walked out because of her marriage to Saif Ali Khan. Kareena Kapoor couldn’t take all the rumours and clears the air in an official statement on why she has indeed decided not to be part of this ambitious project.
“I walked out a week ago. I had allotted 100 days for the shooting in August as per contract, but Mr Bhansali wanted more days to shoot. My managers Reshma Shetty and Zahid Khan thought about it and decided it wasn’t possible, as I have signed three new big films for next year. The shooting for one of them begins in October immediately after the release of Heroine. I’ve also given 32 days of promotional time for Heroine, as it’s a very special film for me. That wouldn’t have been possible if I had given those dates to Ram Leela“, she clarifies.
“I am extremely ambitious and very career-oriented and my personal life has never come in the way of my career. My not doing this film has nothing to do with my wedding. Everyone knows Saif and me have been together in a relationship for the last five years and PR machineries on an overdrive float such stories about me being replaced because I am getting married! So people, just back off and let me focus on my work!”, says the actress.
Her manager Zahid reveals the other major cause for Kareena’s decision to leave the film. “We had fixed a lumpsum amount for a 100-day shoot and had clarified that if the director took more time than that, we would be compensated, on a per-day basis. Mr Bhansali was okay with it initially but later he asked for more days and didn’t want to pay us extra for those days. We thought it’s better to do three films in 150 days than just get stuck with one.”
