MUMBAI: The audience loved both Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone together in the summer’s big hit ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ and now they will come back together in Imtiaz Ali’s next.
Imtiaz Ali is currently on work on ‘Highway’ which stars Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt. Buzz around the director is that after ‘Highway’, Imtiaz will return to his ‘Rockstar’ actor and get Deepika in tow. A source close to Imtiaz Ali says, “The final decision to cast Deepika was taken two days ago. Katrina is not doing the film.”
This will obviously come as bad news for Katrina Kaif who was said to be pursuing the role in Imtiaz’s film. Ranbir and Katrina may spend birthdays together, party in Ibiza but it looks like they may not get to spend time together on film sets.
It’s not like the Ranbir-Katrina pair hasn’t struck gold at the box-office; it just hasn’t struck gold the way the Ranbir-Deepika pair has. Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif have starred together in ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahaani’ and ‘Raajneeti’, and they were moderate to good earners, but a ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ type blockbuster does not come often.
Producer of ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahaani’, Ramesh Taurani states that Deepika was opted over Katrina in both ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ and Imtiaz’s next because “she suited the role better.” He adds, “We do not cast actors simply because they are or were in a relationship. What is taken into account is whether they are appropriate for the character.”
There are many others who believe that Ranbir Kapoor has reached a point where it doesn’t matter which heroine is paired opposite him. He is able to gather an opening for the film himself. Girish Wankhede, GM, Marketing, PVR and Cinemax, says, “While you cannot take away the credit from Deepika or Katrina, you have to listen to the ‘oohs’ and the ‘aahs’ for Ranbir in the lobby during the intervals.”
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani says, “RK has established himself as a surefire crowd puller. At least 60 per cent of the audience comes in simply because of him, the rest for the film itself.”
So looks like Katrina Kaif will have to wait for some time till she appears opposite Ranbir Kapoor in a film. Till then, she’ll have to wait her turn till Deepika Padukone lets go of her hands from Ranbir.
