When Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had left Madhur Bhandarkar upset for 'hiding' her pregnancy after signing his film Heroine

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is inevitably considered one of the most timeless divas and gifted actresses of all time. But do you know? There was a time when the actress had left director Madhur Bhandarkar upset and was ousted out of his ambitious woman-led film Heroine . Reportedly, it all had to do with Aishwarya hiding about her pregnancy from the filmmaker.

Yes, you heard that right! To take you back in memory lane, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was the initial choice for Madhur Bhandarkar’s film Heroine and she had also signed the contract for the same. However, Madhur however, later came to know that the actress was expecting her first child during the same time. The Fashion director claimed that Aishwarya had hidden the truth from him.

According to a news report in Pinkvilla, an excerpt from Madhur Bhandarkar’s blog which he had written following the fiasco stated, “Today, when I know the condition of my then lead actress (Aishwarya) and I shudder at the thought what if instead of my associate she would be the one to be injured; I would have suffered major guilt throughout my life if anything were to happen to her on my guard and direction. The lead actress was required to smoke on screen....but even if she chose not to smoke for the camera. There are other actors smoking in the same frame entailing to passive smoking which would prove detrimental to a pregnant woman's health. The actress would have informed the state of her health, an impending maternity.... The truth was hidden from us."

Reportedly, Madhur Bhandarkar had come to know about Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s pregnancy through a news channel. He had further written, “I could not come to the office for almost 8 days for the fear of facing those people whose bread and butter depended upon the film. Because in a true sense, these people were the worst affected by the turn of events. The entire crisis would have taken a humongous shape had the truth not being unveiled when it was... With 65 days of shooting remaining. It would make the concerned actress 6-7 months pregnant. Cinema is a visual medium and keeping in mind the physical state of the actress the total interpretation of the character of a diva and the story would land up in major jeopardy post 65 days of her pregnancy."

However, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s father-in-law and superstar Amitabh Bachchan had come to her defense and stated that no contract states that an actress cannot get pregnant. The role ultimately went to Kareena Kapoor Khan . Even though the movie reportedly tanked at the box office, Kareena’s performance was appreciated in the same.