Producer Nikhil Namit calls Priyanka Chopra's move to quit Bharat ‘little unprofessional'

A day after director Ali Abbas Zafar announced that Priyanka Chopra has quit from Bharat, producer Nikhil Namit, of Reel Life Productions Pvt. Ltd., has confirmed that the actress left the film as she was getting engaged to American pop-star Nick Jonas. However, the producer also said Chopra's move to exit the project was a 'little unprofessional'.

Zafar, in his Twitter post yesterday (27 July), had suggested that the actress left his film in a cordial way for 'very very special reason'. However, some reports also stated that marriage may not be the reason Chopra quit the project, but she was not happy with the length of her role in the film. 

Namit though has rubbished these reports. "Priyanka told us she had to exit due to her engagement, two days ago. It was a little unprofessional of her to do it so suddenly." Namit told Mid-day.com.

Later, he issued an official statement denying that Chopra quit the film because of the length of her role. 

“These allegations are not true. How can anyone alleged that Priyanka's role was chopped in the film? Bharat is based on [Korean film] Ode To My Father, which is the highest grossing film in Korean history. So, obviously the roles have been allocated as per the original film. She knows the script of the film. There is not an iota of truth behind the rumours that Priyanka walked out of the film due to the length of her role. There was no screen test or look test done for her as it was planned in August. She hadn’t even begun shooting for the film, as her schedule was from September. We totally respect her decision to say no to the film due to personal reasons, but these rumours need to be put to rest," the statement read. 

While there is no official word from Chopra about her exit from Bharat, the 36-year-old actress has commenced work on Shonali Bose’s The Sky Is Pink.

Did Chopra prefer The Sky Is Pink over Bharat? 

“There are various stories floating around. There is talk that Priyanka felt that there won’t be much scope in Bharat, considering that there are too many artistes in the film. May be wasn’t sure after dedicating so much time to the film, she may not get too much footage. The Sky Is Pink is a solo role. Even if that film gets critical acclaim then it’s an advantage,” an industry insider said.

While Chopra is out of Bharat, actress Disha Patani is gearing up for her role. She plays a dancer trapeze dancer in the film. The young actress even dropped a hint about the name of her character through an Instagram post. 

Her dress in the picture has 'Radha' written on it. 

Bharat is slated to be released on 5 June 2019.