Speculation continues to swirl around Farhan Akhtar’s road trip drama Jee Le Zaraa, which was originally set to bring together Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, and Katrina Kaif in leading roles. With persistent rumours suggesting that the project may now move ahead with an entirely new cast, Farhan has finally addressed the uncertainty.
The filmmaker-actor admitted that the journey of the film has been far from smooth, adding that it almost feels like the universe is testing him in some way.
Farhan on Jee Le Zaraa
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Farhan spoke about his journey as a filmmaker, and picked Jee Le Zaraa as an example.
“There is some kind of chaotic design to all of it. I couldn’t write it down and tell you, but it comes from whatever feels right in – that I really must do this. It is going to be an experience that if I don’t do, I will miss…It’s been four and a half years of me as a director trying to put a film together, and for various reasons, one wheel or the other keeps falling off. But, I am excited about wanting to do it. I feel that in some way, the universe is testing me, to see how badly do I want it. So, I am just waiting for that final wheel to be put back in place,” Farhan said.
Here, Farhan was asked if Jee Le Zaraa is happening with a new cast. To this, the filmmaker replied, “There are too many rumours doing the rounds about too many things. I have always maintained that I honestly don’t like keeping any secrets when I am making a film. Every time I felt like something is ready to go, I have put it out in the world, and shared it with them. And I’ll do the same. Right now, I am just a little bit in a place where I really need to think very seriously about what I want to do next as a director. Because so many things have transpired in the last couple of years that I feel I just need to catch my breath, and really kind of just see where my heart lies with it. So, once that happens, I will let the world know.”
What do we know about Jee Le Zaraa
Back in 2021, Farhan announced the film Jee Le Zaraa with Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt and Priyanka Chopra in the lead. However, the film has still not gone on the floors due to date issues. Jee Le Zaraa is a road-trip film, a light-hearted story about female friendships, self-discovery and making independent choices. The film created major buzz when first announced. However, reports soon surfaced that aligning the schedules of the three actors had become a challenge. The film would have marked Farhan’s return to direction after his 2011 film Don 2.
At the time, Priyanka had taken to Instagram to express her excitement about the project. She wrote, “Katrina, Alia, and I enthusiastically met in February 2020 (as seen in this picture), just before the world shut down, to discuss who we could trust to bring this vision to life for us and our choice was unanimous… Farhan and Ritesh, Zoya and Reema. We had all worked with @excelmovies and @tigerbabyfilms individually so this seemed perfect. It just so happened that Farhan was working on a female road trip movie at the same time! Talk about all the stars aligning!! And here we are today… #JeeLeZaraa… it only took 3 years to align all our schedules but we stuck together and got it done! This one is to sisterhood… to friendship and to breaking the mould!! Can’t wait to get on the road with Aloo and Katty.”
Last year, Farhan hinted that Alia, Katrina and Priyanka may no longer be part of the cast. Speaking on the YouTube channel Our Stupid Reactions, he said, “I have finished all location scouts, recorded music for the film. So it’s just a matter of time before we come back and do it again. I can’t comment on the cast any more, like what that will be and when that will land. But will the film happen? Ya, it will.”
Meanwhile, Farhan is gearing up for his upcoming Hollywood debut with the role of Pandit Ravi Shankar in Sam Mendes’ The Beatles film.