Zoya Akhtar confirms 'Jee Le Zaraa' has not been shelved

Zoya Akhtar has come out with a clarification regarding Farhan Akhtar's upcoming directorial, Jee Le Zaraa, which she has co-written. Previously, there was speculation that the all-female road trip film was going to be shelved after Priyanka Chopra - one of the lead actors - had to walk out of the film due to date issues.

However, according to India Today, Zoya has denied rumours claiming that the film has been shelved. "We're just waiting for the dates," said Zoya. It has also been reported that Priyanka will be replaced by another leading Bollywood actor to star in Farhan's highly-anticipated directorial, alongside Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif.

A source, whilst speaking about Jee Le Zaraa, said, “Farhan Akhtar is completely cooperating with the leads and not pressuring anybody. A call on the prospects of Jee Le Zaraa will be taken once all three leads have a common date of the shoot. There could be some changes in the casting as well.”

Jee Le Zaraa has been on the radar of Bollywood fans ever since it was announced on the 20th anniversary of Farhan’s directorial debut, Dil Chahta Hai (2021). The upcoming film, co-written by Zoya and Reema Kagti, marks Farhan’s return to direction after Don 2 (2011).

While Zoya did clarify that the film has not been shelved, she did not speak up about whether the film would move forward with the original cast, which consisted of Alia, Katrina, and Priyanka. Thus, there is no confirmation regarding Priyanka having walked out of the project.

According to Pinkvilla, Farhan has been in talks with Aamir Khan, who's taking a break from acting himself and is focusing on his production house, Aamir Khan Productions. Farhan himself has been chosen as a part of the cast for the remake of Campeones, after which he will reportedly begin directing Don 3.

Jee Le Zaraa is set to receive an overwhelmingly positive response. Earlier this year Alia praised her Jee Le Zaraa co-stars in an interview with Harper's Bazaar saying, “I think that Priyanka, me and Katrina are already doing roles that are sparking new conversations. We’re doing more female friendship films. We don’t see much of that. Girls’ trips, girls just being friends and not fighting over stupid things. I’m quite excited about that. We realised [how important it was] when we announced it and the response we were met with was so positive.”

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