“Does she even want to work in India?” Salman Khan asked in Hindi at the media interaction in Delhi to release the trailer of his home production Loveratri. Salman’s outburst where he very clearly accused Priyanka Chopra of unprofessional behaviour by opting out only ten days’ before she was to start shooting for Bharat puts a very big question mark in front of Priyanka Chopra’s career in India.

Apparently, a collective decision had been taken by the team of the film Bharat to not answer questions about Priyanka Chopra at the Loveratri media interactions. And in fact Salman Khan dodged the PC salvos in Mumbai excusing himself by saying he hadn’t read the newspaper in the last few days (though how reading the papers is connected with Priyanka’s exit from Bharat, only Salman can explain).

But in Delhi, he burst out against Priyanka saying she had chosen to inform them of her departure just ten days before shooting, giving a reason that suggested marriage. However, Salman spoke about the reason perhaps being a bigger film. He wished her well in a sarcastic tone.

Says a close friend of Salman’s, “Salim Saab (Salman’s father) had very clearly briefed Salman not to talk about Priyanka Chopra at the trailer launch the Khan family’s son-in-law Aayush Sharma’s film. But Bhai being Bhai and hence thoroughly impulsive, he couldn’t hold himself back beyond a point because he was not in the wrong in this matter. It was highly unprofessional of Priyanka to back out of Bharat in such a careless manner.”