Saif Ali Khan-Kajol’s secret film by ‘Hindi Medium’ director gets a jolt; Nawab of Pataudi quits? – Exclusive – Times of India

The film in question was supposed to be co-produced by Akshai Puri (co-producer of ‘Bhoot Police’) and Jay Shewakramani. It would have been the second collaboration between Saif and Jay. ‘Jawaani Jaaneman’, which also starred Tabu and Alaya F, received positive response for its light humour and a new take on human relationships, was the first time that Jay and Saif had joined hands together.

While it is still not known why Saif changed his mind, it is now not clear whether the replacement is being found.

When contacted, Akshai Puri said that he was abroad and did not know anything about this. On the other hand, Saket said that his script is ready but he hasn’t approached any actor for it yet. However our source maintains that Saif and Kajol had consented for the film in principle and even the pre-production work had started keeping in mind that it will be Kajol and Saif.

Sharing his excitement on the second anniversary of ‘Jawaani Jaaneman’, Shewakramani had said, “In fact, we (Saif and I) are also in the talks for another film that will be set against the London backdrop as well. We will announce the same soon.” Perhaps the Saif-Kajol starrer that has been derailed to an extent, was the one he was talking about.

The Saif-Kajol movie was supposed to be directed by Saket Chaudhary, who began his Bollywood career by writing various television series and working as assistant director to Aziz Mirza on ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’ (2000). Later, he assisted Santosh Sivan in writing the screenplay of ‘Asoka’. Saket’s directorial debut was ‘Pyaar Ke Side Effects’ (2006), which was followed by ‘Shaadi Ke Side Effects’ (2014) and ‘Hindi Medium’ (2017) with Irrfan Khan in the lead.

Meanwhile, Shewakramani is now getting ready for a romantic thriller ‘Freddy’, starring Kartik Aaryan and Alaya F. The film is directed by Shashanka Ghosh.

Saif and Kajol have starred together in ‘Dillagi’, ‘Bambai Ka Babu’, ‘Hameshaa’ and ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’ till now. ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ also had them together but the story did not require them to share screen space.