Actress Kareena Kapoor’s performance in the movie “Heroine” which was directed by Madhur Bhandarkar is considered as one of her most intense and powerful roles. The film gained a lot of attention for its bold portrayal of the darker side of the Hindi film industry. However, before Kareena joined the project, the film had originally been announced with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead.
In 2011, Aishwarya had to step away from Heroine after it was revealed that she was pregnant. The situation escalated when Madhur Bhandarkar accused her of not informing the team about her pregnancy in advance. He said that her condition created unexpected problems for the production because she was already four months pregnant and the team only found out through news reports. According to him, if they had known earlier, plans could have been adjusted and the crisis might have been avoided.
In an old interview, Kareena was asked how she felt about taking over the role after Aishwarya left. She said that it was a personal matter between Aishwarya and the director and she wasn’t part of the film during that time so she did not want to comment on their issues. Kareena also said that she believed Aishwarya is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses in the industry and she would have delivered a completely different and equally brilliant performance.
Kareena explained that she didn’t feel pressurised about stepping into the role. As per her, it was just destiny and every actor brings their own style to a character. According to her, both she and Aishwarya have their individual ways of performing and she felt glad that the director chose her for the role of a diva, which suited the film’s theme.
Even though the film was heavily publicised due to the casting controversy, Heroine did not do well at the box office. Despite the hype, it turned out to be a commercial failure in India. However, over the years, Kareena’s portrayal in the film has been praised and it is now considered one of her most memorable performances, even if it wasn’t appreciated fully at the time of release.
