Kareena signs Bhansali's next?

Her films may have been classified as non-performing assets by the filmi duniya, but Sonam Kapoor is still considered a hot-and-happening star.

Even before the ghost of Players is laid to rest at the box office, Sonam's already ' as is her wont ' moved on to her next big project. This time, it's her mentor Sanjay Leela Bhansali who's signed her on.

But Sonam ' who Sanjay launched in Saawariya ' wasn't the auteur's first choice. She wasn't even his second. It seems Sanjay had desperately wanted his muse, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to star in his directorial project. But Ash backed out of the film.

Then there was talk that Sanjay had approached Preity Zinta for the same project, but with one thing and another, the bubbly actress couldn't be finalised either. That was when Sanjay settled on Sonam.

"Sanjay sees a lot of potential in Sonam. All she needs is the right script and a good director," a source revealed.