Is there trouble brewing between Rana Daggubati and Abhishek Bachchan?

Film-maker Ram Gopal Varma recently confirmed on Twitter that actor Rana Daggubati and not his initial choice — actor Abhishek Bachchan — has been finalised to play the lead in his cop movie Department. “Due to date problems to match combinations with other actors I am going ahead wth Rana Daggubati instead of Abhishek Bachchan in Department,” tweeted the director.

Following these reports, there was a strong buzz doing the rounds that suggested a possible rift between the two actors who had bonded well on the sets of their recently released film.

However, those close to the two actors insist that there’s no trouble brewing between them at all. A source close to Abhishek says that first of all it’s unfair to say that Daggubati has replaced Bachchan. “Abhishek Bachchan had definitely heard the script of Department, but had never committed to it as he knew that he was going to be busy with Rajkumar Santoshi’s Ladies and Gentlemen, Rohit Dhawan’s Bol Bachchan and then Dhoom 3. So, there was no way he could allot the dates to Ramu, and this was conveyed to him early on,” said the source.

As for Daggubati stepping into the cop’s shoes meant to be for Bachchan, the source added that there’s no issue between Daggubati and Bachchan  over the role or the film. “Abhishek Bachchan is rather happy for Rana Daggubati. The two got along rather well on the sets while shooting for their recent film and the two are far too secure to worry about something like this. In fact, Bachchan has always treated Daggubati like a younger brother and is more than happy with his work.” Besides, sources point out, Bachchan has already flown off to Russia, so where’s the question of having time to ponder over these matters.