MUMBAI:

It was supposed to be the casting coup of the season. Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra together as sisters in Dharmesh Darshan’s Aap Ki Khatir.

The two former beauty queens and friends were coming together after their joint debut in Andaaz.

Then what happened? Because Lara decided to do a disappearing act, the panic-stricken director approached Amisha Patel to take Lara’s place. Amisha has agreed to step into Lara’s place.

What could be the reason for the ever-professional Lara’s change of mind? The official reason given is the usual date problems. But according to those in the know, there’s more to Lara’s ‘no’ than meets the eye.

“She obviously got insecure about being in the same frame as Priyanka, who has made a lot more headway since they first started together. Lara’s friends are constantly reminding her of Priyanka’s wise moves as compared with her shabby career choices,” a source close to the project said.

On the other hand, Priyanka seems clueless about the reason for the eleventh-hour change. “Lara and I have never had any problems. In fact, I’ll always cherish how much she did for me when I was just starting out,” said Priyanka.