Abhishek Bachchan picks JP Dutta's 'Paltan' over Ronnie Screwvala's next

Actor Abhishek Bachchan was on board Ronnie Screwvala's  upcoming untitled slice-of-life comedy, also starring Irrfan Khan. However, that may not be the case anymore.

According to buzz doing the rounds, the actor has apparently walked out of the project to film for Dutta’s war-drama, Paltan. A source from Screwvala’s production house says, “The film was to roll in January 2018 because Irrfan is busy shooting for his next Hollywood film. Given that the film follows a group of men on a road trip, it relies on the camaraderie between the actors. Irrfan and Abhishek hit it off well when they met. But, last week, it was conveyed to us that Abhishek has pulled out of the film since the schedule, and the time he had to put in to prepare for the film, was clashing with the schedule of JP Dutta’s Paltan.”

Since Abhishek launched his Bollywood career with Dutta’s Refugee (2000), the actor was unwilling to turn him down, the source adds. While Abhishek and his spokesperson remained unavailable for comment, sources inform that Ayushmann Khurrana is being considered for the role in the Akarsh Khurana-directed project. “Akarsh and writer Hussain Dalal have reached out to Ayushmann, but he is yet to sign on the dotted line.”