ASH most likely in HEROINE New article Page 6

Marilyn Monroe very candidly said, "I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle.

But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." Well, we wonder which of our Bollywood heroines Aishwarya Rai Bachchan or Katrina Kaif, Sallu's most talked about exes, will be able to epitomize the character of this controversial Hollywood star, who has inspired Madhur Bhandarkar's most ambitious directorial venture, Heroine.

Not so long ago, the industry was abuzz with rumours that UTV, which is co-producing the film with Bhandarkar, was keen on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play the lead role.

However, for a dash of competition, the producers have decided to include Sallu's other ex, Katrina Kaif, as an option for the lead.

Our source tells us, "Heroine is now a toss-up between Aishwarya and Katrina. The film will go on floors as soon as either of them is finalized.

The rest of the cast is not going to be too difficult to put together."

However, before Sallu's exes stood a chance for the role, Bhandarkar had decided to shelve the film altogether as his first choice, Kareena Kapoor, had backed out.

We broke the story on September 13, 2010 that Kapoor opted out of the film because she felt that certain portions of the film reflected her real life.

Also, if sources are to be believed, she was apprehensive about doing the intimate scenes in the film.

Our source confirmed Bhandarkar's previous decision to shelve Heroine, saying, "Yes, he had put it off. In fact, he was very, very disappointed that Kareena could not come to terms with the role."

Now that Heroine is back on track, the source adds, "Everything is okay. Both Aishwarya and Katrina are fine actresses. Both can do ample justice to the role, which requires a lot of style and character as well.

Bhandarkar and UTV took a joint decision to revive the project and short-list Aishwarya and Katrina as the options for the lead role.

The decision was taken as the film's script is extremely hard-hitting and such a story is just waiting to be told."

A source close to Bhandarkar says, "After the moderate success of Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji, he is considering venturing into other genres like comedy and action as well.

He is also keen to revive Heroine with UTV but he is yet to give them a green signal."