DEEPIKA instead of KAT in SALMAN's next with YRF

Deepika Padukone lost one man to Katrina Kaif. Looks like she may soon get to avenge herself by stepping into Kaif's shoes as Salman Khan's girl in Kabir Khan's film, to be produced by YRF.

While Katrina is still under consideration for the role, both Aditya Chopra and director Kabir have zeroed down on Prakash Padukone's daughter.

Explaining how Deepika came into the picture, a source said, "They needed a young A-lister opposite Salman for the film.

So it had to be Katrina, Deepika, Kareena or Priyanka. Kareena and Priyanka are not in the running anymore.

After the misunderstanding over the promos of Roadside Romeo, YRF is not too keen on Kareena. As for Priyanka, though she had patched up with Salman, the chances of the two working together are very less."

Also, the fact that Salman is proving to be a major hindrance in his ex-girl Katrina's career, (Mumbai Mirror, March 29) tips the scales in Deepika's favour. If buzz is to be believed, to avoid speculations and controversies, the Kaif babe may herself choose to opt out of the film.

News of Deepika working with Salman has been doing the rounds for quite some time now, be it in Bodyguard, Kick or Ready. Deepika has always been open about her desire to work with Salman as well.

After an event in 2010 where Salman had expressed his desire to do a song with Deepika, she had said, "Just one dance with Salman is not enough.

I would want to do a full-fledged film with him." On another occasion, more recently, when asked about Salman, Deepika had said, "I have been very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with the biggest names in the industry.

Now, I would like to work with Salman. I feel he is a very honest person. He is genuine about what he feels and from what I have read and known about him, he seems to be very caring."

Looks like, Deepika's dream is about to come true.