Prachi dumps Kannada star's Bollywood debut

Kannada cinema's teen idol Diganth got a taste of Bollywood's temperamental diva brigade when Prachi Desai, riding high since the success of "Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai", opted out of his Hindi debut film at the eleventh hour.

The film, designed as a big romantic musical to give the Kannada heartthrob the right start in Bollywood, goes on floors in September, provided a suitable leading lady is found at this late stage.

"Everything was finalised. Diganth, who is a major star in Karnataka, has all the makings of a national star thanks to his Rajasthani background and his pan-India look," says a source close to the project.

"The producers P.J. Singh (of "London Dreams") and director Mani Shankar (of "Knockout") wanted to launch Diganth with a pretty fragile girl who would be able to look physically correct with the 28-year Kannada star. Prachi was finalised," he adds.

And then suddenly Prachi informed the makers that she was no longer doing the film, thereby creating panic.

Says the source, "A lot of resources have gone into pre-production. Diganth has been training to be equipped to take on competition from Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan. Everything was in place. But now the project is without a leading lady."

Incidentally, this is Prachi's second such misadventure with a southern leading man. Earlier, she opted out unceremoniously from the Tamil film "Thaidaiyaara Thaka", leaving the project high and dry at the last minute.

It is unclear what could have prompted Prachi to be so unprofessional with an established actor down south.

John & 5 beautiful Women: I Me aur Main

Bollywood hunk John Abraham will be seen with five actresses, including Chitrangada Singh and Prachi Desai, in a new movie I, Me Aur Main, to be directed by debutant Kapil Sharma, son of noted astronaut Rakesh Sharma.

Presented by Reliance Entertainment, the film is produced by Shrishti Behl Arya and Goldie Behl, the movie is a slice-of-life film about protagonist John and the women in his life.

"We're happy to announce the title of the film I, Me aur Main starring John Abraham directed by a very talented Kapil Sharma and presented by Reliance Entertainment. It's a feel good film with something for everyone," Arya said in a press statement.

Apart from Chitrangada and Prachi, actress Zareena Wahab will also be seen in the film, along with two other female leads, details of whom are currently under wraps.

'I Me Aur Main' is an entertaining youthful film that will release early in 2012 with a fresh and light touch.

"We are very pleased with the way the film is shaping and are confident it will deliver to the company's vision of producing wholesome entertainers," said Sanjeev Lamba, CEO of Reliance Entertainment.

Prachi sheds her inhibitions..

After sizzling on the screen with co-star Emraan Hashmi in Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, Prachi Desai has apparently decided to get cosy with him again as she has been signed by The Bhatts to play the lead opposite Emraan Hashmi in 'The Informer'.

The Bhatts had cast the lead actors together again pursuing their decision to rework the magic amongst them in Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai. And taking this further up a head, they have been very successfull in convincing Prachi to shed her inhibitions further to suit the role,” confirmed a close friend of the star.

Prachi, who was always known to maintain a demure and girl-next-door image would be seen undergoing a complete makeover with The Bhatts taking the onus to revamp her image. And apparently Prachi has also consented for a whole lot of intimate sequences including kissing and love making scenes with Emraan giving in to The Bhatts' request to sex it up a bit!


Well, actress Jaqueline Fernandez has undoubtedly hit the bull's eye with the same action plan. Now only time will tell if Prachi too would be able to repeat the feat!

Prachi to don a bikini for the Bhatts

The Bhatts want Prachi Desai to shed her inhibitions in their film Informer with Emraan Hashmi.

They have told her to go bare-dare and get the sexy tag, as they have done with their earlier heroines, Mallika Sherawat, Kangna Ranuat and Jacqueline Fernandes.

Let's see how far Prachi will go with the skin fest; considering that her close bond with mentor Ekta Kapoor has gone kaput, the girl might as well go for a major image makeover.

Mamtha Mohandas bagged it..

Mamta Mohandas replaced Prachi Desai and the entire Thadaiyara Thakka film unit heaved a sigh of relief as they can now proceed with the shooting.

Prachi Desai was the initial choice for this flick and she also participated in the shooting. But for some unknown reason, the actress walked out of Thadaiyara Thakka leaving the team in distraught over her behavior.

However, with Mamta taking over, there is a huge relief that the film can now progress as planned. Arun Vijay starrer Thadaiyara Thakka is a double heroine subject and yet another heroine in this flick is newbie Rakul Preet Singh.

Prachi Desai irks Arun Vijay

The moment Arun Vijay signed one of the leading Bollywood actresses Prachi Desai for his upcoming film ‘Thadaiyaara Thaaaka’, it became an additional attraction.

Having paid her a whopping amount as remuneration, Prachi was supposed to shoot for her portions with Arun Vijay in Chennai.

Regrettably, the actress flew back to Mumbai due to personal issues. Apparently, it turned out to be a big disappointment for the entire team as the actress didn’t show up at the sets and is not even attending the phone calls.

It is noteworthy that the makers had erected gigantic sets in Chennai, but everything went in vain as the B-Town missy was absent.

Now the producers are left with no option, but to wait for a while or else opt for some other actresses.

Prachi signs three films outside Balaji

Prachi Desai finally seems to have moved on. The actor, who got her big break in Ekta Kapoor’s TV show Kasamh Se in 2006, had apparently fallen out with the TV producer a few years ago. But when they worked together on Ekta’s 2010 production Once Upon A Time... In Mumbaai, most thought the hatchet had been buried. Unfortunately when Prachi, who was once Ekta’s favourite, did not feature in any of Balaji Film’s future projects, the impression changed.

Taking that as a hint, the actor has now gone ahead and signed three films outside the banner. She has been cast alongside John Abraham in Shristi Arya’s next, opposite Emraan Hashmi in Mahesh Bhatt’s Informer and has also bagged a role in Ghayal’s sequel alongside Sunny Deol.

Choosing to remain silent about the changing equation with her mentor-friend Ekta, Prachi says, “I don’t want to add fuel to fire. We both know the truth. Ekta was family and without her support, I wouldn't have achieved what I have.” But the actor is far from being disheartened.

She has also not taken being part of the sequel to Once Upon A Time... In Mumbaai well. “It doesn't have any characters from part one. It’s a different story,” says Prachi, calling this phase of her career a satisfying one. “I’m getting to work with a diverse set of actors, directors and banners. Though I’m only two films old, people appreciate my work. So my life isn’t as boring as it seems.”

For now, she's excited about her forthcoming projects. “I was itching to do a film under Mahesh Bhatt’s banner,” says Prachi, who will be directed by Kunal Deshmukh in Informer. Though she remains tight-lipped about her pairing with Sunny in Ghayal 2, she does say, “Punjabi families can’t do without dhol and deol. They are a legendary family. I am a huge fan of Sunny's.”