Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan
Alia Bhatt, Varun DhawanVarinder Chawla

Shocking every movie enthusiast, "ABCD 2" star Varun Dhawan has pushed out Salman Khan to become Karan Johar's hero in "Shudhhi".

Confirming the news on Twitter, the popular filmmaker wrote, "And finally..SHUDDHI starring VARUN DHAWAN and ALIA BHATT... Directed by KARAN MALHOTRA... @Varun_dvn @aliaa08 @karanmalhotra21 @DharmaMovies."

The "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" star, who was earlier said to have been signed for the Karan Malhotra directorial, appeared thrilled in his tweet. "Kamaal karte ho Varun Dhawan...made ur dad n me so proud of u... happy Shhuddhi," he posted along with a childhood photo of the young actor.

"Shudhhi" now comes across as a little jinxed in terms of its leading cast. Before Salman was pulled on board, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor Khan were approached for the roles.

However, it was the "Mohenjo Daro" actor's health issues, which made him bow out of the project. Meanwhile, Kareena reportedly rejected the offer, saying the idea was to work with the suave actor after long, and since it wasn't happening signing on the dotted line didn't make any sense.

However, Dharma's decision to rope in Alia and Varun has irked Salman's fans on Twitter. Here's what some of them have to say:

Janam Thapa

@BOCLive @Varun_dvn @BeingSalmanKhan sad to heard this @karanjohar had already confirm to have salman in shuddhi then why change? not fair

Sayantani M Nambiar

Varun in Shuddhi!! N not @BeingSalmanKhan ? Really!! @karanjohar u ditched us. DISAPPOINTING. do u really think any1 cn take salman's place?

Sidians

Heard About #Shuddhi, So Varia Are Leads. Seriously? Like They suggested names like Hrithik, Salman,Kareena and then suddenly Varun & Alia .

GautamRodeAdmirer

@anuradha510 @foramgosar i was expecting them for shuddhi. Totally disappointed with kjo's choice