Atul Agnihotri: Priyanka never spoke to me about walking out of Bharat

Atul Agnihotri, Salman Khan

Bharat is in the limelight currently, thanks to the various vibrant posters and its dynamic songs. B-town fans are excited to see the on-screen chemistry of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. However, Katrina was not the first choice of director Ali Abbas Zafar. Priyanka Chopra was roped in for the project before she abruptly left the movie.

With barely a month away from release, the film's producer, Atul Agnihotri, has opened up about Katrina replacing Priyanka. Apparently, he learned about the sudden development from someone else while he was on the sets.

Speaking to Pinkvilla, the producer said, "Priyanka still hasn't texted me. She never spoke to me about walking out of Bharat. It was a message I received on the set. I was like, 'It's okay, yeh ho gaya. But let's now fix it'. The news came to me via people."

He added, "I understand she was getting married and was in love. So, it's okay because that's the bigger decision of her life. Of course, it's great to discover and find love and it's even better to marry the person you love. I wish her all the best for her life. That one day, I could have felt a little different, but at the end of it, when you see things from the hindsight, it's fine."

Priyanka Chopra leaving the film midway had irked Salman Khan, too. In an exclusive chat with midday, the Dabangg actor said, "It was sweet of her to tell us five days before the shoot that she couldn't do Bharat. I'm glad Katrina is part of the film. She was Atul's [Agnihotri, producer] first choice. But Priyanka called Ali [Abbas Zafar, director] and said she wanted to do Bharat, so we considered her."

Even now, things seem to have remained sour between Priyanka and Salman. Recently, during a social media live interaction with the audience, when Katrina Kaif was responding to a question asked by a fan about her preparation for her character in Bharat, Salman Khan was quick to cut Katrina and took a dig at Priyanka Chopra and said, "Priyanka didn't give us much time to prepare."

Also Read: Salman Khan shares making of the Great Russian Circus from Bharat

Bharat will be Salman and Katrina's sixth film together after Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, Partner, Yuvraaj, Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai.

Speaking about the movie, the makers of Bharat have already two of its songs - Slow Motion with Salman Khan-Disha Patani, and Chashni with Katrina Kaif-Salman Khan, while the third song Aithey Aa will be released on Thursday, May 9.

Also Read: Bharat's next song, Aithey Aa, will have Katrina Kaif teasing Salman Khan

Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, Bharat also stars Tabu, Jackie Shroff, Sunil Grover and many others in pivotal roles. The film is slated for an Eid 2019 release.

Also Read: Disha Patani sets the temperature soaring with this new still from Bharat

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