Over the past few days, rumours have been rife that Sanjay Dutt turned down a cameo in Total Dhamaal that features Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit-Nene as the principal cast. While reports suggested that Dutt's chock-a-block schedule prevented him from giving a nod, there's more to it than meets the eye. Apparently, the actor - who has been part of the first two instalments, Dhamaal (2007) and Double Dhamaal (2011) - was displeased about not graduating to the third offering, with Devgn taking over the baton.

A unit hand reveals, "Indra Kumar [director] was keen on having Dutt in a special appearance. But the latter cited Prassthanam schedule and bowed out of the shoot. But it was easy to deduce that he was upset about being dropped from the franchise, and hence, didn't want to make a special appearance. Dutt is known to accommodate his friends' requests, but this was his way of showing his displeasure."