Actor Arjun Rampal, who was earlier set to play the role of Sher Khan in ‘Zanjeer’ remake, is no longer the part of the project due to date issues.

Arjun Rampal, who recently said that he was thrilled to be able to essay the character of Sher Khan, which was made iconic by Pran in 1973 original ‘Zanjeer’, had no option but to walk out of the project recently.

“Arjun Rampal is not doing the film. He had some date issues so he could not do the film,” confirmed movie’s director Apoorva Lakhia to IANS.

Before Arjun Rampal it was rumored that Lakhia had approached Sanjay Dutt with the role. But the director denied the reports and said that he approached no one but Arjun Rampal with the role as he thought that the actor suited it perfectly.

“It's all media speculation. We never considered anyone else other than Arjun for this role. We have not yet decided who will be replacing Arjun in the film. Talks are on,” said Lakhia.

The movie stars South superstar Ram Charan Teja as Vijay, the role which was played by Amitabh Bachchan in the original. Priyanka Chopra will play Mala, originally played by Jaya Bachchan.

The movie is produced by Amit Mehra, son of Prakash Mehra, who directed and produced the original ‘Zanjeer’.