Shah Rukh Khan's persistent back ailment has aggravated further. He has flown to London for treatment and is expected to return in March.

Both his productions, Main Hoon Na (directed by Farah Khan) and Aziz Mirza's Chalte Chalte, have come to a standstill. Other projects like Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades and Nikhil Advani's Kal Ho Na Ho will also be affected.

Ashutosh turns producer

Ashutosh Gowariker has teamed up with United Television (UTV) for his Rs 300 million project Swades, starring Shah Rukh Khan, where he also dons the mantle of producer. Ashutosh Gowariker Productions will be in charge of the concept and creativity while UTV will handle the funding and marketing. A R Rahman will compose the music.

Rani in Mehta drama?

Buzz is that Rani Mukherji has bagged a key role in Ketan Mehta's 1857: The Uprising.

Aamir Khan plays legendary freedom fighter Mangal Pandey in the patriotic drama produced by Bobby Bedi, the producer of Shekhar Kapur's Bandit Queen and Deepa Mehta's Fire.

The script has been written by Farrukh Dhondy.

After making her debut in Anupam Kher's Om Jai Jagadish opposite Abhishek Bachchan, Tara Sharma has replaced model Katrina Kaif in Vishesh Films' Saaya opposite John Abraham.

Producer Mahesh Bhatt reveals, "We shot with Katrina for a day. We found there was no innocence on her face. She was too sensuous for the role. Maybe dropping her was unethical, but I did not want to cheat the audience."

Saaya, directed by Anurag Basu, is slated for a May 16 release.

Born to a Kashmiri father and British mother, Katrina makes her Bollywood debut in Kaizad Gustad's much hyped Boom!

Yesterdays Newsbytes