E X P E R I A - A N ! N U M

The months-long speculation over the female leads in Race 2 has begun to come to an end. Deepika Padukone has been confirmed for the sequel to the Tips Films production helmed by Abbas-Mustan, which will also star Saif Ali Khan, Anil Kapoor and John Abraham as the male leads.

Take two!
Ever since producer Ramesh Taurani and director duo Abbas-Mustan announced their plans of making Race 2, there has been constant buzz about the cast after Akshaye Khanna and Katrina Kaif’s characters are killed off in the 2008 hit. Moreover, since the makers declared that the sequel would be hotter and better than the previous one, all the top stars were said to be in contention. Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu and Kaif (as a look-alike from the first film) were also spoken of as probable leads.

However, in the recent weeks there have been reports that say Chopra is currently the hot favourite for the sequel. DeepikaMoreover, Padukone opted out of Anurag Basu’s Silence, for which Ranbir Kapoor and Chopra had been already been confirmed. Never asked the reason for the speculation being that Abbas-Mustan have worked with Chopra before in Aitraaz and hence were keen to rope her in for the sequel.

But due to her busy schedule, the actor, who is currently filming Don 2 with Shah Rukh Khan and the rest of the cast in Berlin, opted out. But producer Taurani cleared the air by saying that the question of Chopra opting out doesn’t arise because she was never approached.

Denying that Abbas-Mustan could have spoken to her, the producer asserted, “Deepika (Padukone) is on for Race 2. We’re yet to finalise two other girls for the film. We’ll announce the names as soon as everything is confirmed.”