Mumbai, July 4 (IANS) If the original cast of "Short Kut - The Con Is On" would have remained intact, audiences would have seen Anil Kapoor playing the role that Akshaye Khanna now essays. Also, Arshad was a late entry into the project as he finally got the part written for Akshaye.



"Yes, the film did see some casting changes though all of it happened before it went on floors. Akshaye was always the first choice for the film and he was on board immediately. After 'Gandhi My Father', it was but natural that he acts in my next production as well," Anil told IANS.

But due to a couple of reasons Anil had to opt out of the project and stay on primarily as a producer.

"Originally I was supposed to do Akshaye's role and he was to do Arshad's role. It was around the same time that Subhash Ghai asked me to do 'Black & White'. I had no reason to say no since I have very high regard for him. We have worked in some wonderful movies together ('Ram Lakhan,' 'Karma', 'Taal') and with 'Black & White' we would have come together after a long time," the versatile actor said.

Around the same time, Anil's dates were also clashing with Yash Raj Films' "Tashan".

"Subhash-ji certainly wanted me in his project and requested me if I could postpone 'Short Kut' for a while. Since I couldn't do that as we were ready to kick-start our project, I proposed to move out of my own project. This is when I requested Akshaye to step into the role written for me," he said.

Considering the fact that Akshaye had made up his mind to play the role of a lovable brat, wasn't it difficult for him to have a re-look at the film with a different perspective?

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