BollyParty

Esha was supposed to play Emraan's love interest in the film, which also stars Neha Dhupia and Aditya Panscholi.

Why did Esha walk out of the film? A source from Percept Picture Company, that's producing the film, says, "We expected Esha to be enthusiastic about the film.

But she wanted a fixed amount of money and stuck to her stand on it. So we decided to look at other stars."

Sarita Patil (Head of Feature Films, Percept Picture Company) explains, "Esha asked for an amount which was not fitting in our budget.

So, Shamim started looking at other girls. He zeroed in on Sagarika who we think is an extremely talented artiste. Soon, we okayed Shamim's choice and Sagarika came on board."

Sarita adds, "Sagarika provides emotional support to Emraan in the film. Neha also has a meaty role. She plays a negative character."

Raftaar is a thriller set in Delhi, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur and the Maldives. Preetam has been assigned to do the music.