Deepa Mehta puts her Bachchan project on hold

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he John Abraham-Deepa Mehta mutual fan club now threatens to spill over into several films. After Water, Deepa had signed her blue-eyed boy to play a pivotal role in her Bachchan project Exclusion. That ambitious epic has now been put on hold. But John needn't despair. He's now doing a more mainstream Hollywood film Luna with Deepa.

Explains the director, "Exclusion is a very ambitious project. And it's a script I'm writing on my own. Luna is something that almost fell into my lap. Warner Brothers gave me a ready script by David Ward. David's script for Luna was given to me ready to be directed. It was too hard to resist."

It was of course Deepa's idea to cast John. "And why not? After working with John I realized what a wonderful human being he is. He just brings so much positive energy to the location. And he's so willing to learn and participate. John was my first and last choice for Luna. If I have my way and if he fits in I'll cast him in all my films," says the director who has had some very unfortunate run-ins with Bollywood stars in the past. She brushes them aside to say, "John will be in Exclusion too. Yes, that project will be on hold for the time being. Right now I'm revved-up about Luna. It addresses itself to a favourite subject, the environment. From the start I've been a child of Nature. Water is a very strong ecological element. The love for Nature is another factor that binds me with John. And of course the fact that my mother adores him just ends all discussion.