Priyanka Chopra plays an upcoming actress and Shahid Kapoor plays a struggling music composer from the 1960s in Kunal Kohli's film. And Kohli insists she's a happy character. "Neither Priyanka nor Shahid is in an unhappy space in the script. The fact that they're both intrinsically happy people helped," says the director.

Reacting tongue-in-cheek to the character being described as an unhappy actress lost in a haze of alcohol, Kohli quips, "I think they're getting my film confused with the second-half of The Dirty Picture. Priyanka plays a very happy actress in my film."

Priyanka and Shahid are in fact supposed to be so well sorted and adjusted that director Kunal Kohli wanted them to visit those emotions, places and friends during the shooting of the film that kept them happy. It is being suggested by certain sources from within the film industry that Priyanka involuntarily ended up spending more time shooting for Kunal Kohli's film with Shahid Kapoor than for Anurag Basu's film with Ranbir Kapoor.

When asked if Kunal Kohli's film was in any way responsible for the delay the director protested, "On the contrary, Anurag Basu and I have swapped Priyanka dates. I took his one-month schedule from August 15 to September 15 to shoot in London and I gave my schedule from July 15 to August 15 to Anurag. Beyond that I've no clue about the schedules of Barfee. I shot with Priyanka on the dates allocated to me. That's it."

But the fact is, Kunal Kohli's epic film spanning nearly a decade and requiring number of locations was completed in record time, and before Anurag Basu's film, although the latter started shooting long before. And Priyanka Chopra has done as much homework playing the autistic character in Barfee as she has to play the "happy" 1960's actress in Kohli's film. For Kunal's film, she was regularly in touch with two of the sunniest most glamorous actresses of the period Asha Parekh and Saira Banu, taking not just fashion tips but also tips on how to remain positive and sunny.

Says Kunal Kohli, "It wasn't just about the clothes and hair. Ashaji and Sairaji represent a certain spirit of bonhomie and joy. I wanted Priyanka to play her character with the same positivity. She is an actress but no bechari and certainly not a victim."