Madhur won't cut steamy scenes in Heroine

After Kareena walks out of Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine, co-producer UTV asks director to water down intimate scenes for Aishwarya, who has been approached for the film, Madhur refuses to relent.

Madhur Bhandarkar’s next film, Heroine, doesn’t stop being controversial. The film is back in the news again. When Madhur’s first choice, Kareena Kapoor, opted out because she was uncomfortable with the intimate scenes, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was approached for the lead. The filmmaker has had an informal meeting with Aishwarya. Rumours suggest that the two met only after he had reworked the script to suit her sensibilities.

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It is learnt that co-producer UTV wants the content to be toned down too because Aishwarya is unlikely to take up the film in its original form. “Heroine is a special film for Madhur and he isn’t going to change the script for any actor,” a source close to the director insists. “If he had to alter the storyline, wouldn’t he have done so for Kareena? He feels that the basic essence of his hard-hitting story (reportedly based on the lives of Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Eva Gardner) will be lost if he fiddles with it too much.”

UTV’s Siddharth Roy Kapoor admits that there is much speculation about Heroine. “We definitely want to make a film with Madhur, but nothing is finalised yet,” he says. Aishwarya’s publicist reiterates that Madhur has met her, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Aishwarya has reportedly loved the subject but is yet to hear a formal narration.

“She wants to work with Madhur after having lost the opportunity to work with him in Corporate (2006) due to date problems,” adds the source. Heroine is supposedly about the rise and fall of an actor who refuses to believe her reign is over, and her relationship with five men. “Madhur is still wondering why Kareena opted out thinking the script resembles her life. Let’s see if things work out with Aishwarya,” concludes the source.