Alia opts out of Homi Adajania's film

The actress has opted out of Homi Adajania's upcoming film that was to go on floors in May.

In December 2014, Homi Adajania and Dinesh Vijan had announced their decision to to co-direct their most expensive love story. The film, titled Raabta, was to begin in mid-2015.

Spanning two different eras, the film was to bring together a fresh jodi on screen - Alia Bhatt and Sushant Singh Rajput.

Now, Mirror has learnt that Alia Bhatt has opted out of the film at the nth hour. "The film has been in pre-production for four months. Homi has been working tirelessly on the script and finally locked it in March. Raabta was to go on floors in May, but now Alia has opted out," informed a source close to the development.

Alia has her platter full with Vikas Bahl's Shandaar, Abhishek Chaubey's Udta Punjab, Shakun Batra's Kapoor & Sons and Karan Malhotra's Shuddhi. She apparently doesn't want to take on any more love stories.

"Also, she doesn't have dates to spare. She has decided to go ahead with Shuddhi which is her mentor's production and will reunite her with her Student of the Year and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania co-star, Varun Dhawan," added the source.

Buzz is, Raabta has been shelved. But Mirror has learnt that this is not true and the makers are currently auditioning newcomers for the female lead. "It's hard to find Alia's replacement because she is young, spirited and has the advatange of star power.

Also, Homi had written the script with Alia in mind. But they have to get their cast together pronto since Raabta is scheduled to release in early 2016. That's the reason they have decided to look at a fresh face opposite Sushant who is still on board," adds the source, confirming that the actor hasn't changed his mind after Alia's sudden exit.

When contacted, Homi promptly replied, "on a boat, message me" but then failed to respond to our text. Dinesh Vijan and Alia too were unavailable for comment.