Those who’ve been waiting to see Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai together on screen (since Guru) have a long wait ahead. Sometime back, Ash opted out of Karan Johar’s next film as the role had a very sexy vibe.

Now, Vicky Singh’s directorial debut Raaste (starring AbhiAsh, John Abraham and Sikandar Kher) too has been postponed. The film’s first schedule was supposed to start in June 2007, but was later pushed to October-November. Now, it’s scheduled to take off in June 2008.

Back and forth

Raaste was launched in December 2006. Explaining the reason for the delay, Ramesh Sippy of Balaji Films, says, “We want to shoot a particular cross-country race in Mexico, which takes place only in June. Abhishek and Ash got married in May, hence we couldn’t shoot this year. I’d said earlier that we would start the shoot in October, but now we’re facing date problems. We have no option but to push the shooting forward to June 2008.”

But surely he could shoot other scenes in October and keep the race portions for June 2008. Why keep the entire film on the backburner till next year? Is it because Ash is dilly-dallying the film? According to reliable sources, Ash has expressed reservations about her styling in the film as she’s averse to sporting a sexy look post marriage.

Date problems

The latest buzz is that Lara Dutta has been approached to replace Ash, but Shabbir Boxwala of Popkorn Films says, “It’s untrue. We haven’t spoken to Lara. The cast remains the same.” As for why the film’s schedule has once again been postponed, Boxwala says, “We are facing problems regarding dates. Abhishek is extremely busy. Due to his marriage in May, all his commitments were pushed forward. He has to complete those first. As for Ash, she has read the script and hasn’t refused the role.”

John Abraham plays a biker in Raaste, while Abhishek plays a racing enthusiast. Besides Mexico, Raaste will also be shot in Turkey.