With Deepika Padukone embroiled in a tussle with a B-town producer, producers of the remake of Zanjeer have approached Priyanka Chopra to essay the role immortalised by Jaya Bachchan. After waiting for a considerable period of time for Deepika to sort out her issues, the joint production house, Reliance and sons of Prakash Mehra, have reportedly approached Priyanka.

Though Piggy Chops heard the script a few weeks back, she could not allot dates in April and May. “We had no other choice but to look for someone other than Deepika since we were running out of time. Actually, actor Ram Charan Teja has allotted dates from April 13 for this Rs 70-crore big-ticket Hindi-Telugu entertainer, so we approached Priyanka Chopra who is equally popular and fits the bill too; but nothing is fixed yet,” says a source close to the actor.

Whether Priyanka comes on board or not, director Apoorva Lakhia will go ahead and can some action sequences with the hero. “We’ll begin our work with a few action scenes and move on once the cast is finalised,” adds the source. Ram Charan Teja, has, meanwhile, resumed shooting for his Telugu film Rachcha after his ligament tear. “Though his injury has partially healed, he will be shooting a dance sequence so as to complete the film for an April 5 release,” adds the source.

With more than Rs 41-crore at stake and every additional day’s delay adding to the “interest”, the actor is overlooking his health to stem further losses for the producer and distributors, especially since the release has already been deferred by a week.