Adi in a starry threesome

After the success of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and carefully supervising the upcoming Dil Bole Hadippa, YRF head honcho Aditya Chopra is set to wear the director’s hat again for Dhoom 3.

Sources say that Abhishek Bachchan will reprise his role as non-nonsense, perpetually angry cop Jay Dixit and Uday Chopra will play the entertaining Ali who falls for every second girl.

Adi will only direct the film if he can rope in both Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan. SRK is currently busy with My Name is Khan but he can never refuse Aditya Chopra. Hrithik Roshan is shooting Guzaarish and will then get busy promoting Kites but he is keen on doing the film which is one of the biggest hits of his career. It gave him a very sexy, Greek God image and he took the action film to a whole new level. John wasn’t in the sequel but if Hrithik is, then he will become the first villain to be repeated in the movie. It isn’t known whether his character will have shades of grey because Hrithik turned over a new leaf at the end of Dhoom 2.

The lead female stars haven’t been decided yet though Kareena Kapoor was considered initially. She will be busy with Agent Vinod and KJo’s remake of Stepmom. It is not known whether Aishwarya will reprise her role as Hrithik’s ally.

If Dhoom 3 works out, it will be the first time in almost a decade that Hrithik and Shah Rukh will share screen space (after K3G in which they played brothers) and the first time that Aditya Chopra will direct an out and out masala action flick. We can hardly wait for the slick flick.

Shahrukh Khan in talks to play an anti-hero in Dhoom: 3

After the super-success of the villain (John Abraham in Dhoom, and Hrithik Roshan in Dhoom 2), the part of the anti- hero has become the most coveted role in B-Town.

Every now and then, big names are being tossed around as being nearly signed for this role and now the latest rumour is that Shah Rukh Khan will feature in the role in this action thriller.

A source who claims to be in the know swears, "Yash Raj Films have been going through a lull period as none of their on-the-floor movies or their completed ones are generating any curiosity from the buyers as well as the audiences. SRK has always been a quick-fix solution for the Chopras.

When- ever their mega boat is rocked, good friend Adi Chopra calls on SRK and the actor steps in to bail out his dost." This last happened with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

Now an insider claims claim that SRK has been approached by the banner to play the main villain in Dhoom 3, "Last week, SRK was called in for a tentative one-line narration; he was impressed and agreed to be part of the film."

Although one wonders when SRK will find the time to finish this film, which reportedly starts some time next year. SRK is very charged about his superhero flick and Don 2, which he wants to finish in 2010, along with his home production Happy New Year, to be directed by Farah Khan, so where is the time to fit in Dhoom 3? It is also not clear who will direct D:3 as Sanjay Gadhvi has had a fallout with YRF."

Saif goes Dhoom over SRK

Saif may have missed all the action in Yash Raj Films' popcorn action series Dhoom and Dhoom 2 and instead preferred to be mushy in their Hum Tum. But the latest we hear is that SRK has turned down the Dhoom sequel, and that spells good news for Saif.

King Khan, who is known to ‘never say no’ to the Chopras, has apparently conveyed the news of unavailable dates till late 2010. Shahrukh is said to have stated health reasons to skip this flick. After his shoulder surgery and the regular strain on his back, Sharukh has decided to not do movies with excessive action scenes. That effectively rules out Dhoom 3 for him.

So now it is a change of plan for the film’s director Aditya Chopra, who has decided to direct the film himself, and has roped in another Khan- Saif Ali Khan for the role.

Rumour mills were working hard when Aamir was touted for the role, replacing Abhishek Bachchan, but Aamir has turned down the project. Though Aamir’s reasons are however unclear, we hear that Aamir is said to be unhappy with the good guy role. Well, we don’t blame him, as in the Dhoom series the baddies are the ones to steal the show. John Abraham’s bike scenes in Dhoom is most remembered as he plays Kabir, the gang’s leader. In the sequel, Hrithik Roshan will never be forgotten for playing mastermind thief known only as Mr. A because he leaves an 'A' symbol after each robbery, and more so because he got to lip lock with Aishwarya Rai (just before she got married to Jr. B). While Jr. B, Abhishek Bachchan who has played the cop (the good guy) in both films has hardly got his due.

The second set of rumour went out that Saif will play the role initially written for Shah Rukh Khan, and Shah Rukh Khan will be the cop, replacing Aamir Khan. Not only that, but Zayed Khan will replace Uday Chopra, who will be seen in the film albeit a special appearance. On the other hand, Rani Mukherjee was being decided for the female lead! We wonder why? Rani's neither hot not tall nor sexy… Absolute prerequisite for Dhoom.

Nobody seems to know the other casting changes the Chopras are contemplating on this project. For what we can tell you even before the script is ready, they are engrossed in the stylization and casting of the film.

Now we wonder who’s being roped in for the female leads opposite these high profile male star casts. Don’t be surprised if the Chopras ring Kareena’s door bell. After all it’s these gimmicks that make the film. As for us, we will surely like to see some young and healthy doing the Dhoom on screen!