After going through a gallery of leading ladies in speculative and totally unfounded news reports, it is Asin who has been finalized to play the lead opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Mere Apne. The film is being directed by Umesh Shukla whose debut work Oh My God on ritualistic religiosity created quite a stir across the country. This time again Umesh tackles a thorny issue. Rishi Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan were signed to play father and son some months ago. The leading lady’s slot remained vacant with names as far-ranging as Kareena Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor being thrown around. The director firmly denied approaching these ladies. Asin has finally been roped in to play what is being seen as an “important dramatic role”. Asin and Abhishek have an interesting history. They were supposed to star together in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se. But Asin opted out and Deepika Padukone played the part. Last year Abhishek and Asin came together as siblings in Rohit Shetty’s Bol Bachchan. Would the audience accept them as a couple so soon after playing siblings? The answer to that can be had from Abhishek’s enormously-talented mother Jaya Bachchan who played Sanjeev Kumar’s daughter and wife in Gulzar’s Parichay and Koshish released within months of one another. The producer of Mere Apne Bhushan Kumar confirms it’s Asin with Abhishek.