She snubs producers of her intended Hindi debut for not sticking to deadlines. They reciprocate by reaching out to the 'more commercial' Sonam for the role.
Bollywood was never kind to Freida Pinto. Not that it mattered to her. But now that she has walked out of her Hindi debut, a thriller titled NH10, the gloves are officially off.
The actress, who was supposed to play a detective in the film produced by Phantom Productions, took the decision before flying off to Cannes. She had signed the film in November last year. According to a friend of the Slumdog star, "she was irritated with the tardiness of the producers, even though she was quite excited about doing the film."
Apparently, Phantom Productions kept delaying the project - which stars Rajkumar Yadav and will be directed by Navdeep Singh - without giving her convincing reasons. Said the friend: "Freida was told that NH10 will go on floors on March 25.
She had several meetings with Phantom Productions at their Andheri office. Later, she was informed that it would start in June.
Now, they are telling her that it will not flag off before October. How long can Freida keep blocking her dates and keep her other commitments on hold?"
What also upset the actress, who has worked with the likes of Danny Boyle, Woody Allen and Rupert Wyatt among others, is that the production house failed to offer her a bound script.
"Freida even roped in international financers for the film, who have now walked out. The delay was inexplicable," the friend added.
Even as Freida continues to fume over the fallout, her Indian producers opted for a more diplomatic line. Vikramaditya Motwane of Phantom simply said, "We had to shift the shoot dates. Unfortunately, Freida could not accommodate the revised schedule in her calendar."
According to reports, the producers have decided to replace Freida with a more 'commercial' heroine. They want Sonam Kapoor to step into Freida's vertiginous heels. A friend of Sonam confirmed the development, adding, "She has not accepted the offer yet."
We are sure none of this was discussed in Cannes, where both the girls were prepped up to pose for their respective brands - slender arms around slender waists.
TOI
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