Why isn’t Emraan in Murder 3?

Only recently, Emraan had declared "Murder" is my turf", in a joint interview with Mahesh Bhatt. Both of them had even come together to promote their film "Jannat 2", silencing their detractors.

While Mahesh had at that time accepted that it has become difficult to catch hold of Emraan post the success of "Dirty Picture" and "Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai", Emraan said that he needed to do films outside their banner and his comfort zone to prove himself as an actor.

While many thought that it was friendly nok-jhok between the two, the recent reports about Randeep Hooda replacing Emraan, who is an integral part of the "Murder" franchise, comes as a shock. Sources claim that there is a certain Bhatt behind Emraan's ouster.

The story goes like this - Mukesh Bhatt's son Vishesh is making his debut as a director with "Murder 3". When Vishesh approached Emraan with the script, the latter refused it and suggested some changes too. This refusal caused a rift between the Bhatts and Emraan, with the former bringing Randeep into the picture.

A source close to the Bhatt camp says, "Both Mukesh and Vishesh went to Emraan with the script for narration. However, when Emraan heard the story, he felt that there were some serious loopholes that needed to be addressed in order to make it a better film." What's more, Emraan even refused to sign the film unless those changes were implemented. The source adds, "This irked Vishesh, who felt that Emraan was acting pricey due to his star status; thus he signed Randeep instead."

Reacting to this, Emraan says, "They (the Bhatts) are family, so I guess I'll always be associated with them somewhere. But I do have the freedom to say no to a film as well."When contacted, Randeep, who is currently shooting in Sri Lanka for "Jism 2", sounded excited about working with the Bhatts again. "Jannat 2" was a great experience and all I can say right now is that I'm excited to be doing "Murder 3"." Has this recent development caused any issues between him and Emraan? "Not at all. We both are doing a film together which is not a Vishesh Films production. We both are cool," he says.

While Mahesh Bhatt remained unavailable despite repeated attempts, Mukesh Bhatt says, "The reason why we picked Randeep was that both "Murder" and " Murder 2" were targeted at single screen audiences, but my son Vishesh wanted to make an urban film that targets the multiplex audience as well. And for that, he thought that Randeep fit the bill perfectly."

So there wasn't any script discussed between Vishesh and Emraan which the latter refused? "There was, but that was the script of a different film and after Emraan suggested a few changes, Vishesh thought it best to put it on hold and concentrate on "Murder 3" instead. For us, Randeep was the first and only choice for this movie," shares Mukesh.

So there is no bad blood between the Bhatt camp and Emraan over anything whatsoever? "Emraan is a star now and there is no denying that. Emraan is not only from the Bhatt camp, he is from the Bhatt family. And as far as him giving suggestions to better the script goes, he has every right to do so," Mukesh signs off.