Why did Rekha quit Fitoor? An insider's report

29 May 2015

The papers are filled with reports of Rekha opting out of Abhishek Kapoor's Fitoor and being replaced literally overnight by Tabu.

"It's not because Rekha didn't like the way she looked. That's bullshit," says a source in the know. "Rekha looks stunning from any angle, and she knows it. No, the reason for her abrupt and shocking departure is something else." According to an actor from the film there was a "complete collapse of communication" between the legendary actress and the Kai Po Che director. "They just couldn't see eye-to-eye on how Rekhaji's character was to be interpreted. Gattu (director Abhishek Kapoor) had one image in mind, Rekhaji had another. They were working at cross-purposes. Neither of the two parties was happy with the end-results." According to a source from the production team, "Replacing Rekhaji was a hard creative decision that needed to be taken. Luckily Tabu had not taken up anything after Haider . And she was familiar with the Kashmiri milieu after Haider . So she fitted right in." Incidentally, Rekha has only shot with Katrina Kaif so far. Her scenes with Aditya Roy Kapur were yet to be canned.