Renuka Shahane’s directorial debut Tribhanga, about the conflict among three generations of women, was to originally star Shabana Azmi, Kajol and Mithila Parkar. But Shabana’s role has been now taken over by her sister-in-law Tanvi Azmi. While the idea of seeing the extraordinarily talented Tanvi back on screen does appeal immensely, watching Shabana and Kajol on screen for the  first time would have been historic. However, this was not meant to be. Says director Renuka Shahane, “Shabanaji couldn’t do the film because of  the offer she got from Stephen Spielberg.” While the official reason given for Shabana’s exeunt is ‘date clash’, sources say the real reason was something else.

“Kajol’s husband Ajay Devgn produces Tribhanga. Shabana wouldn’t get the screen space that she deserves,” says a source in the know.

This is not the first time that Tanvi steps into her sister-in-law’s imposing shoes. In Bajirao Mastani the role of Ranveer Singh’s mother was originally offered to Shabana.