Back in 2020, Deepika Padukone had announced that she had acquired the rights of the much-acclaimed Hollywood film The Intern, and had said that she will be starring in its Hindi adaptation with Rishi Kapoor. As the latter passed away, megastar Amitabh Bachchan stepped in for the role, but the project was put on the back burner. And now, in the latest development, it is said that Deepika has decided to quit the film as an actress and will only be on board in the capacity of a producer.
According to a report in Midday, Deepika has stepped back from the project as an actress and will now solely focus on the production and logistical aspect. A new actress will be cast in her place, alongside Big B, and the film will finally go on floors soon after being in limbo for five years.
Deepika is yet to issue an official statement on the same.
For those unversed, the original The Intern, which released in 2015, starred Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro in the lead roles. While the former played the founder of a fashion e-commerce company, the latter, a 70-year-old widower, joins her company as an intern.
In the Hindi adaptation, Deepika was supposed to step into Hathaway's shoes, while Rishi Kapoor was to play the intern. However, his sudden demise in 2020 left the nation shocked, and the film was shelved for the time being. In 2021, Deepika announced that she will be reuniting with her Piku co-star for The Intern.
But soon after the announcement, the country was hit with the second and more intense wave of COVID-19, and the film was stalled once again.
While Deepika, who is now a new mother, has decided to be more choosy with her scripts and spend more time with her daughter Dua, she also plans to make The Intern go on floors with the new actress and Big B in 2026.
Meanwhile, she will be next seen in the second installment of Kalki 2898 AD, and will also star opposite Allu Arjun in Atlee's next. She also has a key role in Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film, King.
