By Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, Sep 2 (IANS): The casting of the leading lady opposite John Abraham in the Hindi remake of Tamil blockbuster "Kaakha Kaakha" had producer Vipul Shah, director Nishikant Kamat and John in a fix. But the hunt finally ended with the casting of Genelia D'Souza.

First Asin was signed. But then she chose to give away her dates to the Salman Khan starrer "Ready".

Desperate for a leading lady, Vipul Shah's spirits soared once again when his "London Dreams" heroine Katrina Kaif was suddenly available after the shooting of "Dostana 2" got postponed. But she chose a Yashraj film with Imran Khan instead.

Matters came to a point that the team was ready to shoot without a heroine.

Luckily Genelia d'Souza has now stepped in to fill the empty slot. Lately, things have not been moving too smoothly for the perky "Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na" actress.

John and Genelia got to know each other during the cellphone advertisement they did together. It was only a matter of time before a movie materialised.

The shooting of the untitled Hindi version of "Kaakha Kaakha" began Saturday.

Producer Vipul Shah confirmed the last-minute casting of Genelia.

"Yes, she's the girl opposite John. We're in the process of signing papers even as we speak," he said.