Salman dropped

Salman Khan's hair problems continue. His shining pate has now created a fresh set of troubles for the star. He has been dropped from Aziz Mirza's next, yet untitled, venture, in which he was supposed to play the lead opposite Rani Mukherji.

"It is unfortunate that Salman Khan won't be able to work with Aziz Mirza in his next venture," confirms Shubho Shekhar, CEO, Planman Motion Pictures, producer of the film. "We had approached Salman Khan for the film and he had agreed to be part of the project. In fact after the Chalte Chalte fiasco with Aziz Mirza, he really wanted to work with him. But now that he has gone bald and decided not to work until he grows back his hair, all his dates have gone awry."

Mirza has been wanting to work with Salman for a long time and he was happy when the actor verbally agreed to do the film.

Incidentally, Salman Khan actually went out of his way to accommodate dates for them before his 'bad hair' phase began. "Yes, it is true that he wanted to give us dates earlier, but the situation was different then," says Shekhar. "Earlier he was willing to give bulk dates to complete the film. But now, due to date constraints he has given Aziz only three days in the first month, and another seven days in the following month. Alternatively, he offered bulk dates in 2007. This wasn't acceptable to us since it would make the project look stale as we have already announced the film and are ready to go on the floors. As a production house we felt that the delay was not justified. If we erect a huge set, and keep it waiting to complete Salman's scenes, our budget will go awry. There is no doubt about his superstar status, but sorry, we can't afford the luxury of having him in our film."

Now Mirza is back to square one, he is in search of a hero. "We can't sign just about anyone for this film," continues Shekhar. "Salman Khan is a big star and if he can't do the film, we'll have to sign someone who is equally big in stature."

Now, apparently the dates of Rani Mukherji will also have to be adjusted.

"She is a very busy star and we'll need to match her dates with the actor who we'll sign for the role," he says. Currently the production house is busy with the all-India release of Faltu, a Bengali film by award-winning director Anjan Das starring Bollywood actors Yash Pandit and Manjari, the couple who were launched in Rok Sako To Rok Lo. Once that's done, the search for a replacement for Salman Khan will begin in right earnest