Kareena's loss seems to have become Deepika Padukone's gain as the latter is all set to star in Ekta Kapoor-Karan Johar's next venture starring Emraan Hashmi in the lead role. It has been reported that Kareena walked out of the film because she was uncomfortable working opposite Emraan, who has become hot box-office property after starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, The Dirty Picture and more recently in Shanghai. However, it seems Deepika has no qualms working opposite Emraan.

"It is strange Kareena was not happy with her role. She also told Ekta and Karan that her wedding would be around the same time they wanted to start shooting for the film. It is a heroine-oriented film and Emraan is not the mainstay of the project so everyone was surprised that Kareena turned it down. However, when Deepika was offered the project she was very excited and agreed to do it a couple of days before boarding a flight to Turkey, where she is currently shooting for Race 2," a source close to the film, which is produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions and Ekta Kapoor's Balaji films told an Indian tabloid.

While Kareena may have used the excuse of her wedding dates to weed herself out of the film, buzz is that it was working opposite Emraan, who she thinks is not in the same league as the Khans, was the real issue.

Rumor has it that after Kareena heard that Deepika had signed the film, the actress began sending feelers to Karan and Ekta that she had changed her mind and would manage to "fit in a few dates" for the film. However, it was too late by then because Deepika had already been finalized as the lead and Ekta and Karan thought it would be unprofessional on their part to dump Deepika in favor of Kareena, especially after she came to their aid when Kareena had turned down the film.

Reportedly, producers Ekta and Karan were convinced that Deepika would do as much justice to the role as Kareena would have. Deepika, who will be seen next opposite Kareena's beau Saif Ali Khan in their upcoming film Cocktail, is said to be very excited about the film opposite Emraan. The film, which is untitled for now, is apparently a women centric film and is an urban take on love - it is quirky, edgy and dramatic. It is directed by debutant director Akshay Roy, who has already begun working on the film.