Kriti Kharbanda quits Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Chehre; Ankita Lokhande likely to replace

Kriti Kharbanda is no longer part of the upcoming film Chehre, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi, the makers of the film announced on Tuesday. The development comes amid reports that Kriti and the producers had a fallout. Dismissing the reports, the production house, Anand Pandit Motion Pictures, issued a clarification saying the two "mutually agreed to part ways on a cordial and professional note".

"In the light of recent media reports, we wish to clarify that @kritiofficial and @apmpictures have mutually agreed to part ways on a cordial and professional note. We wish her success in all her future endeavours," the statement on the banner's Twitter account read.

While Kriti is yet to comment on the update, it is said that the actress had refused to kiss or get intimate on the big screen which is the reason she had to quit the film. Earlier, when the actress starrer in Raaz Reboot, she expressed that she was apprehensive of doing the bold scenes. Luckily the film did not have any.

“Raaz Reboot doesn't have extreme boldness, but I was apprehensive about the kissing scenes. I have never kissed on screen before, so I was like I am not sure about this. The makers assumed that I have been working for a while so I must have done that on screen," she had said.

Now that the actress is out, the makers are said to be in talks with Manikarnika actress Ankita Lokhande. It is also said that the actress liked the script and has given her verbal nod.

Kriti Kharbanda has been ruling the headlines these days for her link-up rumours with Pagalpanti co-star Pulkit Samrat. After keeping mum on the reports, the duo finally confirmed that they are dating. In an interview with ETimes, she said, "In all honesty, I wanted my parents to know first that I'm dating someone. And when you start seeing someone, I think there's a time for everything... when you're comfortable talking about it. Sometimes it can take five years; sometimes it can take five months. In our case, it was five months."

Co-produced by Saraswati Entertainment Private Limited, the film is a mystery thriller directed by Rumi Jaffrey. Chehre is scheduled for a February 21, 2020 release.