Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s Heroine will be completely modern. Although talks were rife that Madhur Bhandarkar’s next is inspired by Hollywood legends like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, the director denies any connection. “Neither Monroe nor Taylor have inspired my movie. People are making assumptions. Nothing is true,” says Bhandarkar.
Last year, Madhur had apparently made a documentary on Ava Gardner, Vivien Leigh, Taylor and Monroe to help Kareena Kapoor, who was offered the film first, prepare for her role. But he denies this too. “It isn’t a period film,” he says. Though he refuses to disclose any details, sources say that Heroine is now a contemporary film, seemingly inspired by the current Hollywood and Bollywood scenario.
Apparently, when the script was altered all traces of the Hollywood legends were removed. Bhandarkar has already accepted that he “completely re-wrote the role to suit Aishwarya”. It has also been suggested that the script features incidents from her real life journey to stardom. The filmmakers refuse to comment on this, but sources insist that Ash would never sign a film that had traces of her life in it.
Recently, reports claimed that Ranbir Kapoor, Prateik and Imran Khan were being considered for the film. But for now, besides Ash, it stars Arjun Rampal and Arunoday Singh. Music composer duo Salim-Suleiman will create the sound. Aishwarya, who was last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish (2010), will start shooting for the film that is expected to go on the floors by June 10.