Ali Abbas Zafar worked with Katrina Kaif in two movies but she was not his first choice for his upcoming film, Bharat. Abbas roped in Priyanka Chopra for the role but she decided to walk out of the film citing personal reasons that we now know to be her engagement with singer Nick Jonas.
After her exit, Abbas hired Katrina in the film as her replacement. Now, the director has revealed in an interview to The Times of India that Katrina did tell him something that eventually came true. “It’s bizarre, but let me share this. When we finished Tiger Zinda Hai, Katrina smiled and told me that I am going to miss her on my next film. At that time, I was quite clear that Priyanka is going to do Bharat. Katrina laughed and told me that she will find some way to be a part of the film. Now she is a part of Bharat, so maybe it was destiny,” he told the daily.
Abbas talked at length about Priyanka’s exit from the film and also addressed the rumours that the filmmakers and lead actor Salman Khan are angry at her ‘unprofessionalism’ for leaving the film 10 days before she was supposed to begin shoot for it. “She is a dear friend, so I can’t feel hurt or angry with her. Priyanka also came with very valid reasons and I couldn’t say no to them. Acting and directing is our profession. Whatever is beyond that is our personal life. Somebody who is part of the fraternity needs to value your professional as well as your personal life. We can’t be insensitive and I am not that kind of a person. I understood her point and where she was coming from,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Abbas talked at length about Priyanka’s exit from the film and also addressed the rumours that the filmmakers and lead actor Salman Khan are angry at her ‘unprofessionalism’ for leaving the film 10 days before she was supposed to begin shoot for it. “She is a dear friend, so I can’t feel hurt or angry with her. Priyanka also came with very valid reasons and I couldn’t say no to them. Acting and directing is our profession. Whatever is beyond that is our personal life. Somebody who is part of the fraternity needs to value your professional as well as your personal life. We can’t be insensitive and I am not that kind of a person. I understood her point and where she was coming from,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}About her engagement with Nick, Abbas said, “Whatever I wanted to say is out there. I wanted to wish Priyanka Chopra all the love and happiness. Obviously, there are a lot of special things happening in her life professionally and personally. We wanted to wish her from team Bharat and there was nothing more and nothing less.”
Priyanka and Nick got engaged in a traditional Hindu ceremony on Saturday at her Mumbai home in the presence of their families and friends. They met at the 2017 Met Gala and started dating in May 2018.
After quitting Bharat, she is still a part of Shonali Bose’s The Sky Is Pink. She will also be seen with Chris Pratt in Cowboy Ninja Viking. The film has, however, been removed from Universal Studios’ calender of upcoming releases.
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