Padukone will now be seen romancing Ranveer Singh in the Filmmaker’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play “Romeo and Juliet”.

Earlier, Kareena Kapoor was signed for the project who was later reportedly dropped due to her marriage plans.

A source close to the project revealed that since the female lead needed to be fair, Katrina Kaif was also a strong contender however, Padukone clinched the deal.

“She signed on the dotted lines only recently. Bhansali had approached her about 25 days back. He also considering a fresh face but was happy to have Deepika on board,” the source added.

The Cocktail star has recently bagged several projects including Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express with Shahrukh Khan, which were originally offered to Kareena Kapoor.