Mumbai, August 18: It is a known fact that actor Arshad Warsi is all set to turn director next year when he would begin calling the shots for his film titled Akkad. Though Arshad made the announcement earlier this year, there was no definite intimation around the leading lady in the film.
However, the industry was abuzz with stories that he had signed on Priyanka Chopra for his film. An amused Arshad, however, says that there is no truth to the story. “We haven’t decided on who is going to act in the film as we are still working on the screenplay,” says Arshad adding, “I never said that Priyanka was going to act in Akkad.”
Ask him how did word get around that he was considering Priyanka and Arshad explains, “It was as simple as this: One journalist asked me about who I thought fitted the bill for the lead role. I said that it could be any good actor. When further prodded, I took Priyanka’s name because her range is brilliant. After all, she has an ability to pull off a Kaminey as well as a Dostana.”
What happened next truly left a bad taste in Arshad’s mouth as the headlines screamed about Priyanka already being finalised for the role.
“I had just given an opinion, but to my horror, I woke up to wrong news… that Priyanka would be featuring in Akkad. I was totally misquoted,” says Arshad in an exasperated tone.
As things stand today, a decision is yet to be taken on the leading lady. “It’s a very strong character,” says Arshad. Meanwhile it would be some time before Akkad goes on the floors. “I was busy shooting for Golmaal 3 earlier. Now I’m busy with Dhamaal 2 and other projects. It would only be in mid-2011 that work will begin on Akkad. I may be going for a co-production or collaboration,” says Arshad.
——Agencies