Is Atul Agnihotri upset with Priyanka Chopra?

Atul Agnihotri's Bharat starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif is scheduled as an Eid release this year. The film has made it to headlines for several reasons and one of it was the exit of Priyanka Chopra. 

Pee Cee left Bharat a few days prior to the shoot and her marriage was cited as a reason for the same, later Katrina Kaif was roped in. Co-producer Atul Agnihotri expressed his views on her exit to Pinkvilla. 

He said, "As a producer, I face challenges every day. What you have seen or heard of is one of those. Some challenges are small and tiring, while some are big but quick to solve.

"I can't be thinking that I'll be sipping tea and coffee and everything will go my way. That's not going to happen because we are dealing with human beings who are instinctive and impulsive. It was a part of the movie coming together. But Bharat seemed to have a mind of its own. The way things happened, we don't have any regrets."

"Personally, my choice for the film was always Katrina, even when we were discussing whom to cast. The director's take was different - Ali wanted Priyanka. So for me, when Katrina came back in the project, it wasn't a setback in my head. 

"I felt it was meant to happen. I'm consciously trying to cater to Bhai's fan base and there's a certain responsibility on me because it's an Eid release. I feel with Salman bhai, nobody looks better than Katrina. There couldn't have been a better time than making a film like Bharat. 

"It's meant to be for them. Everything felt like a setback for a few minutes, but we were never facing a big roadblock," added Agnihotri

Talking about Priyanka, the producer expressed, "Priyanka still hasn't texted me. She never spoke to me about walking out of Bharat. It was a message I received on the set. I was like, 'It's okay, yeh ho gaya. But let's now fix it'. The news came to me via people. I understand she was getting married and was in love. 

"So, it's okay because that's the bigger decision of her life. Of course, it's great to discover and find love and it's even better to marry the person you love. I wish her all the best for her life. That one day, I could have felt a little different, but at the end of it, when you see things from the hindsight, it's fine."

Has the desi girl hurt Atul? He said, "It doesn't hurt. But it upsets your planning. It's a Salman Khan film so the timing of the information left us a little unsettled for a bit. But we are fortunate to have friends and supporters who know that our only intention is to make a great film. Whoever saw that and came on-board, their contribution is priceless. It can't be reciprocated in words."

Bharat directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, co-produced by Atul Agnihotri, featuring Disha Patani, Tabu, Sunil Grover, Jackie Shroff along with Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif is set to release on the 5th of July.