Salman Khan has finally addressed the subject of Priyanka Chopra exiting his upcoming film Bharat and in an interview with a leading daily, revealed that the actress had called director Ali Abbas Zafar herself because she was interested in doing the film. Days before Bharat began filming, Priyanka dropped out of the project for a “very very special reason” as informed by Ali on Twitter in July. More on this later because we really need to pay extra attention to Salman’s words at the moment.

Priyanka has been replaced by Katrina Kaif in the film and Salman is glad about that. In fact, Salman, during his interview also revealed that Katrina was producer Atul Agnihotri’s first choice for Bharat but the makers “considered” Priyanka after her call to Ali.

"I'm glad Katrina is part of the film. She was Atul's (Agnihotri, producer) first choice. But Priyanka called Ali (Abbas Zafar, director) and said she wanted to do Bharat, so we considered her,” Salman told the daily.

But just in case you are of the opinion that Salman is quite cool about Priyanka’s exit from Bharat, his opinion on it with a slight hint of sarcasm might just explain the rest. "It was sweet of her to tell us five days before the shoot that she couldn't do Bharat,” Salman told the daily.

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While Ali’s tweet about Priyanka’s exit involved a massive hint on her engagement with American singer Nick Jonas being the reason for her walking out of the project, reports suggest that she quit after bagging a role opposite Hollywood actor Chris Pratt in Cowboy Ninja Viking. Although Priyanka’s engagement wasn’t confirmed at that point of time, she ultimately formalized her relationship with Nick through a roka ceremony in Mumbai on August 18.

Cowboy Ninja Viking, unfortunately, has been delayed but Salman did wish the best for Priyanka after her engagement. "I hope the other movie that she has signed, works out. Now that she is engaged, we are happy for her. I hope she gets married soon, has children and lives happily ever after,” Salman added.

Bharat is an official adaptation of 2014 South Korean film Ode To My Father. It is scheduled to release on Eid 2019.