Kangana Ranaut was due to collaborate for the third time with Anurag Basu after Gangster and Life in a... Metro, but she is not going to be a part of it anymore. The filmmaker is however hopeful and says they are destined to work together again. Basu was to direct Kangana in a project tentatively titled Imali. But she has moved on from the project to focus on her directorial venture.

Amidst news that Kangana "opted" out of the project, Basu told IANS: "She didn't opt. We were supposed to start the film last November. But then (her) Manikarnika schedule got changed. Then I got busy with my current film, and then she got busy with Panga. It started a never-ending dynamo of confusion on dates. But we are destined to work together again. I'm sure it will happen sooner or later," added the filmmaker, who launched the versatile actress in Bollywood with Gangster in 2006. After the success of Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi, Kangana is working on three films; Mental Hai Kya, Panga and the Jayalalithaa biopic. In the meantime, she is also focusing on her next directorial venture.

Kangana explained her stance in a statement: "Last year, when I announced Panga and Imali together, Anurag Basu's film was supposed to go on floors in November 2018. But I had to direct and reshoot Manikarnika.... So, I had to push Imali. I was also meaning to be a director for a while, so I couldn't have said no to this. Meanwhile, Panga had already started and I couldn't do that", said Kangana.

She said moving out of Basu's film was a tough call for her. "Anurag and I have spoken about it. I feel extremely bad because 'Imali' was giving me an opportunity to work with my mentor again, but I'm on the verge of announcing my own film in a few weeks from now. That has taken a lot of my time and I have conveyed it to Anurag, who understood my situation."