Before quitting Bharat, Peecee rubbed Salman wrong way before too; here are instances

Priyanka Chopra’s announcement on Thursday that she would no longer be a part of Salman Khan’s home production Bharat has sent the film industry into a tizzy. The actress, who announced her big Bollywood comeback with the film a few months ago, was supposed to start shooting in a few days. Industry insiders believe that this call of hers will have serious repercussions and may not go down well with Salman.

While the rumours of her exit had been doing the rounds for the last couple of days, director Ali Abbas Zafar took to Twitter on Thursday morning and announced what people already knew. He broadly hinted that Priyanka’s exit had something to do with rumoured beau Nick Jonas.

“Yes, Priyanka Chopra is no more part of @Bharat_TheFilm and the reason is very very special, she told us in the Nick of time about her decision and we are very happy for her (sic),” he wrote. The shooting for the film began a few days ago and Priyanka was expected to join the cast in August.

According to the popular website People.com, Priyanka is already engaged to Nick Jonas and the couple is planning to tie the knot by the year end. However, sources close to the film describe this marital alibi as a ‘whitewashing job’ and believe that she may have got a bigger project. Says an informed source, “The director, who is a close friend of Priyanka’s, doesn’t want any ugly controversy about her exit. So he’s making it sound like an amicable parting, which it is not.

Salman is hardly going to be pacified by this reason. If she were getting married, she could have planned it after the wrap-up. This is not a small film and opting out of it more or less seals her plans for a Bollywood comeback.”

Priyanka, who has been spending more time in the West, was looking for a big-budget film for a comeback. Bharat would have been the perfect platform. A source close to Salman says on condition of anonymity, “This is madness, considering it was Priyanka who was keen to be in the film. Priyanka told them that she wanted to come back to Bollywood. Now when Bharat has gone on the floors, why is she having second thoughts?”

This isn’t the first time the Baywatch star has rubbed Salman the wrong way. The two had a fallout years ago when Salman got her replaced in Namastey London. “He suggested Katrina Kaif’s name to Vipul (Shah) for the film,” the source reveals. And things further went south when Priyanka refused two films opposite Salman. The actress was offered London Dreams and Main Aur Mrs Khanna but unfortunately, she never signed the dotted lines. Her refusal to be a part of Sohail Khan’s production didn’t go down well with Bhai and the battle lines were drawn. Things turned worse when she chose Shah Rukh Khan’s Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass se Tez Hain instead of Dum Ka Dum. For the uninitiated, the two Khans then were also sworn enemies after a public showdown.

While it’s too early to get a clear picture on the aftermath of the crisis, early indications reveal that Salman’s trusted friend Katrina Kaif will step into the part.