Once bitten twice shy Asin refused to do Ashutosh Gowarikar's period saga historical Khelenge Hum Jee Jaan Se. She's still to get over with the way she got sidelined in London Dreams even though she formed a major sub-plot in the movie. But Deepika Padukone has no such fear of being relegated to the back ground. And so Ashu has signed her for the film opposite Abhishek Bachchan.
A source said that after Asin walked out of the film citing date issues, Ashutosh considered Genelia D'Souza, Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. But it was Deepika who landed the role. She is more than happy to be working with Ashu and immediately grabbed the role. For the first time, she is paired with Abhishek and is very excited to be working in a period film (the film is about the Chittagong Uprising). Deepika has already started preparing for her role.
Commenting on why Asin backed out of the role, our source said that Asin didn't feel her role was substantial and backed out after a month of signing the film. The actress seems to be getting choosy about her work after her recent film, London Dreams bombed at the box-office. She doesn't want to take a risk after her launch in Bollywood with Aamir Khan. Confirming Deepika's selection, Sunita Gowarikar said that they are really looking forward to working with her.