Aishwarya's Heroine put on hold, confirms UTV

Shutting up all the speculations about Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starring in Madhur Bhandarkar's ambitious project Heroine, the producers today finally confirmed that the project has been put on hold because of her pregnancy. "We would like to put an end to the speculative and factually incorrect stories that are doing the rounds on Heroine, and to clarify the position on the film once and for all. At this point nothing is more important than Aishwarya's well being and good health," UTV Motion Pictures said in a statement.

The statement further read that they have mutually decided to avoid shooting further. “Even as we will truly miss this opportunity to work with Aishwarya, the entire unit wishes her the very best for the exciting time ahead, as she and Abhishek move into this special new phase in their lives," the statement said. However, a close source to PTI informs that whether Aishwarya will continue to be a part of Heroine is not confirmed. “The shooting of the film is stalled and Aishwarya is not part of the project," it reports.

Last week, to-be-grandpa Amitabh Bachchan broke the news about daughter-in-law Aishwarya's pregnancy. The actress, who is five months pregnant was committed to director Madhur Bhandarkar's, Heroine. She was supposed to portray the role of a successful film actress Mahi Khanna, who is on a decline. Heroine was announced at the Cannes Film Festival 2011. This hard-hitting, realistic film also stars Arjun Rampal and Arunoday Singh.

The speculations about the film also dragged in actress Priyanka Chopra saying that she apparently wanted to do Heroine. To these speculations Priyanka reacted on her twitter page, “Read some stupid article about how I wanna do Madhur Bhandarkar's film Heroine. I think Madhur is amazing director and it will be amazing to work together again. But guys this one ain''t it! I wish him and Ash lots of luck with the film."

Even though Bhandarkar had conceptualised Heroine before the Cannes Festival, the film's taking a real form anytime sooner, appears to be bleak.