Prabhudeva to direct Shahid & Katrina in 'Namak'!! - Page 6

Twice before, they were almost finalised as the lead pair but it didn't happen. However if all goes well, Katrina Kaif, who is gearing up to star in Prabhudheva's next 'Namak', will play the romantic lead opposite Shahid Kapoor for the very first time.

In 2007, Rajkumar Santoshi had wanted to cast Katrina and Shahid in lead roles in the film he was planning to direct. Again, Imtiaz Ali's wife Preeti had wanted the pair to headline the 2009 remake of the Korean film' My Girlfriend Is An Agent' that she was going to produce.

Namak also marks the coming together of Katrina and Prabhudheva for the first time. While the two of them got acquainted on the sets of Prabhudheva's Hindi directorial debut Wanted that starred the actress' ex Salman Khan whom she would visit on sets, they never got the opportunity to work together.

Apparently, Prabhudheva has been wanting to work with the actress for the longest time. He had even offered her an item number in a South film he was supposed to direct in 2010. That too failed to materialise.

A source close to the film told TOI, "Katrina too is very enthusiastic about working with Prabhudheva. She knows he is a commercial director, who understands the pulse of filmgoers in the country. She has told him she will be free to do his film after Jaunary 2013. And Prabhudheva has no issues waiting for her to be free."

Katrina remained unavailable for comment. Meanwhile, Namak supposedly revolves round the drug trade and will see Shahid Kapoor as an action hero.