Has Vashu Bhagnani played dirty with Irrfan?

Irrfan

Amid reports that Irrfan left Welcome to Karachi's producer Vashu Bhagnani in a lurch as he refused to leave for London at the last minute, it has now emerged that Irrfan and Kunal Roy Kapur were originally supposed to do the film. But when Vashu Bhagnani came on board, he apparently wanted to sign Arshad Warsi in place of Kunal Roy Kapur.

Irrfan

A source says that when Irrfan was earlier signed on with Kunal Roy Kapur, he was given a script different from the one he was shown later on. Moreover, his role was smaller in the second version. "The script was changed after Arshad came on board and that is the main creative difference between Irrfan and Vashu Bhagnani. Also, Irrfan had asked the makers to show him the audition of the actress being cast because he has many scenes with her. Here too, he was not kept in the loop," says the source.

Irrfan confirms that the film's actress was signed without his knowledge or consent. "I had just asked them to wait for a few days as I thought that we were not prepared to shoot yet. This apart, the film's actress was signed on without my consent. Most of my scenes feature this actress, so I wanted to know who the actress is and if I am comfortable shooting with her," he says.

Now the buzz is that Jackky Bhagnani has replaced Irrfan and that he left for London on Thursday. Producer Vashu Bhagnani and his actor son, Jackky, could not be reached for comment.