Parineeti paired with Akshay Kumar!

Akshay Kumar may have stopped working with Priyanka Chopra ever since they were linked and Akki's biwi Twinkle sounded a red alert. But pairing up with her cousin Parineeti seems to be okay for Akshay Kumar.

The Ishaqzaade actress has been confirmed to star opposite the Khiladi in A R Murugadoss' Hindi remake of the Tamil action thriller Thuppakki being produced by Vipul Shah. The original features Vijay and Kajal Aggarwal.

Says a source, "Of late, Akshay has been working with newer actresses like Sonakshi Sinha in Rowdy Rathore and Anushka Sharma in Patiala House. So this time he will team up with another youngster Parineeti.

According to B-Town buzz names like Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif were being considered. But a source close to Murugadoss informs, "Parineeti has been confirmed for the role. Priyanka has no clue about it!" South director Murgadoss made his B-Town entry with the Aamir Khan-starrer Ghajini in 2008.

Penty of rumours
Cocktail actress Diana Penty was initially considered for the Hindi remake of Thuppakki. However when Akshay Kumar learnt that Diana was from the same agency with which Akshay had a problem with, he refused to work with her. It may be recalled that Nargis Fakhri was signed for Khiladi 786 and she had also signed a three-film deal with Akshay's production house. But Akki had differences over the contract with the agency and Nargis was replaced with Asin.

Priyanka's win, Parineeti's loss
It is also rumoured that Parineeti was angling for the role of Mary Kom in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's production directed by Omung Kumar Bundela. But her cousin Priyanka Chopra bagged the role. u00a0