Fawadians CC #2 (Strictly I/O) - Page 7

It is not just Shah Rukh Khan who seems to have buckled under the pressure of people who do not want Pakistani talent working in India. Salman Khan has now followed suit. The star's production house was in talks with Fawad Khan to be a part of their next film Jugalbandi, but have now dropped all talks with the actor. Instead, they are opting for the safe Saif!

It was reported that Amar Butala, CEO of Salman Khan Films, was in discussions with Fawad Khan for the film which is to be directed by Nitin Kakkar. Earlier this year the director had even admitted the same while talking to a Mumbai-based newspaper. "We go on floors with Fawad sometime next year. He is locked in. We are currently in the process of getting an actress on board," he was quoted. However as the relationship between the two countries took a sharp turn downhill, Nitin denied ever approaching Fawad.

At Follo, we have kept an eye on the developments and this is what we found: The producers decided that it would be prudent not to pursue Fawad any longer considering the problems Ae Dil Hai Mushkil faced. Also, Salman Khan had come under the eye of the storm when he stood for Pakistani talent working in Indian films during the controversy. "They are artists, not terrorists. It's the government who gives them permits and visas," he had said at a press conference.

Our source from the team tells us, "Soon after the entire ruckus they decided to drop Fawad and look for someone else. Saif Ali Khan was the next name that they came up with. In fact, he was discussed earlier as well but they decided to go for Fawad considering his popularity among the female audiences." It may be recalled that Salman had spoken highly about Fawad's looks right before his first Bollywood film Khubsoorat had released.

"So now the cast is more or less locked. Fawad has been replaced while Anil Kapoor stays. They intend to go on floors by early 2017," adds our source. In the director's words, the film is an "urbane love story."

This development is also rather ironic as Nitin Kakkar's first film, the national award winning Filmistaan, had aimed at fostering cross-border friendship. Our texts to Nitin Kakkar and Amar Butala went unanswered till the time of publishing this story.