Pricey John loses two films

"John was interested in the project and said he would come back with a business plan. And that plan was that he wanted Nikhil to pay him 13 crore for the deal," the source said, "This was a bit absurd, considering that John has failed to give a single solo hit since Jism. When Nikhil wanted to explain to John that it wouldn't be feasible to sign him for that amount, he came away with the impression that John genuinely believed that his market value was as high as a top star's."

"Nikhil has worked with big stars like Shah Rukh, Saif, Salman and Akshaye Khanna. Despite working with all these stars Nikhil wanted to cast John in his film because they shared a very good rapport during the shooting of Salaam-e-Ishq," says our source.

Advani tried negotiation, but John didn't want to cut his rate, the source said. Advani concluded the meeting by telling John that he will talk to his producer and get back. "But Nikhil had already made up his mind that he will not work with John again," the source said, "He went to Akshay Kumar, and he liked the script."

"Askhay immediately agreed to work with Nikhil and he charged his market price," says our source.

When news of the deal reached John, he called Nikhil and wanted to re-negotiate, the source said, "but Nikhil told him: 'I'll get back to you if I have something nice.'"

A few months ago, reports mentioned a three-film contract that Adlabs had signed with John, but that was denied later by Adlabs.