How Bhansali lost and found his Juliet

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali was all set to make Ram Leela, a Gujarati version of Romeo and Juliet, with Kareena Kapoor as his leading lady. In the last few weeks, the film has created a lot of buzz after Bebo decided to drop out from the project citing date issues. Surprised at the news, Bhansali announced that as she was to wed Saif Ali Khan later this year, his Juliet could not be a married woman.

However, the filmmaker has decided to go back to his original choice for his project, in spite of signing Deepika Padukone for the same role last week. According to sources, Bebo was to sign the film yesterday. Bhansali can finally heave a sigh of relief after having found his first Juliet again. Ranveer Singh plays the male lead.

Second choices
When Bebo backed out of the project the first time, other B-Town actresses angled for the role. There was a buzz about Priyanka Chopra being considered for it, then Deepika Padukone's name cropped up and later there was speculation that the filmmaker might consider a newcomer. Last week, Dippy bagged the role, but it appears that Bhansali has done some re-thinking.

Says a source, "He was not too sure about Deepika essaying the role. Even after auditions he felt she was not apt for it. He did toy with the idea of launching a new face but later felt that Kareena suited the character best. He eventually went back to her."

And Kareena was receptive to the idea. "She knew she was the original choice, after all. She agreed to be part of it again on her terms and conditions," adds the source.

The buzz is that the Kareena-Saif's wedding may not happen this year, and his Juliet will remain single till the film is released. As the Bard would say, ‘All's well that ends well'.u00a0