Just as the actor lands his first KJo project with Punit Malhotra, his Mausam co-star officially walks out of it. Bad weather forecast? Shahid Kapoor's single status seems to be working in his favour, especially for his professional life.

The actor was slated to work on his first Dharma Production in 2005 in Karan Johar's Kaal. But due to the cold war between his then girlfriend Kareena Kapoor and KJo, Shahid reportedly opted out of the venture.

However, Mumbai Mirror has learnt that the actor has got himself a second chance at being a part of the KJo camp. A source from the production house revealed that Shahid has been roped in to replace Imran Khan in Punit Malhotra's next.

According to the source, Imran opted out of the film as he wanted to focus on Vishal Bhardwaj's Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola. And so, Karan Johar and Malhotra decided to cast Shahid in the film.

The source added, "Previously, Shahid was supposed to be a part of Soham Singh's directorial venture, Kaal. But at the last moment, he backed out of the film. Shahid was with Kareena back then and since she had a tiff with KJo about his decision to cast Preity Zinta in Kal Ho Na Ho instead of her, Shahid opted out for the sake of solidarity. And since then, he hadn't been offered a role in a Dharma Production."

Despite repeated attempts, Shahid Kapoor remained unavailable for comments.

Meanwhile...

Her debut film I Hate Luv Storys, directed by Punit Malhotra, has been the only hit of her career till date. And so, the news of Sonam Kapoor no longer being a part of the director's next has stirred up a whirlwind of rumours. A source close to the developments revealed to Mumbai Mirror that with Shahid being brought on-board the film, KJo was reluctant to pair them up again after the reception Mausam received.

The source explained, "Shahid recently confirmed that he would be a part of the film. Once that was decided, Karan and the unit felt that Sonam should not be a part of the film, especially since their last film Mausam did not do well at the box-office. It was evident that their on-screen pairing did not work for the film and so, the makers did not want to repeat the same mistake. As a result, the filmmakers are in search of a new leading lady."

However, a friend of Sonam defended, "Sonam had opted out of the film a long time ago. Ever since Imran decided to concentrate on Vishal Bharadwaj's film, Sonam too opted out."