Looks like Abhay Deol is all set to usher in his birthday with a flourish. He has not only bagged a new film but has also replaced Abhishek Bachchan to clinch the lead role in the project. Abhay who turns 36 today has been signed on for Prakash Jha's next film for a role that was earlier said to being going to Junior B. Says Abhay, "This film happened almost overnight. I have immense respect for Prakash Jha's work and it's a great script. I am extremely happy that I could join the project."

Says Abhay, "This film happened almost overnight. I have immense respect for Prakash Jha's work and it's a great script. I am extremely happy that I could join the project." Speculations that the film would star Abhishek and Amitabh Bachchan started doing the rounds since the project was announced.

Prakash Jha however states, "We have never officially announced that Abhishek was part of the film. These were all false reports that were making the rounds. At the moment Abhay, Arjun (Rampal) and Manoj (Bajpai) are part of the film. And I think Abhay is perfect for the role."

Great timing

Interestingly, for Abhay, the film couldn't have come at a more appropriate time. His film by Dibakar Bannerjee and a Hollywood project opposite Bipasha Basu have been stalled and hence he had a free calendar for the next few months. And though his next film with Emraan Hashmi and Kalki is up for release, he needed a concrete project in place post that.

Birthday plans

Adds Abhay, "After Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, the bar has been raised. I have to follow it up with an equally good film. I'm confident Prakashji's film will turn out great." Though he is in celebratory mode at the moment, Abhay says that on birthdays he prefers to keep it quiet. Since I turned 21, I'm still figuring out what to do with life (laughs). I will probably go out for a quiet dinner with Preeti (his girlfriend) and my friends. Nothing noisy!"