Like all other rumours surrounding ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’, director Pradeep Sarkar dismisses this one too

Shooting glitches, a cold war between Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukerji and his fallout with former mentor and friend Vidhu Vinod Chopra; Pradeep Sarkar’s second film and Yash Raj’s latest offering ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’ has been in the news for reasons other than expected.

But Sarkar doesn’t seem unduly ruffled. “Yes sure, we had some problems during the shoot in Benares, but there was a press conference later where we clarified our position. Plus, we were on a very short schedule and we had to shoot according to light conditions.”

Rani-Abhi-Ash imbroglio

Ask him about the alleged cold war between the film’s leading stars, Abhishek and Rani, and Sarkar is quick to dismiss the rumours. “There was no tension at all between Rani and Abhishek. I don’t know where these rumours originate from. Contrary to what is being said about there being cold vibes on the sets due to Aishwarya’s (Rai) presence, she was in fact a big help to me. Aishwarya was always ready with an input or two, or even helping out to get things ready for the shoot.”

Incidentally, the film, which also stars Kunal Kohli, Jaya Bachchan, Anupam Kher and Konkona Sen Sharma is slated to release next week.

Vidya woes

Inspite of the fact that his protégé Vidya Balan was supposed to do Konkona’s (Sen) role and backed out at the last minute, the director has no regrets about taking on Konkona.

“She is brilliant in the film. Her look, her sensitivity, her approach to playing her character is so good! I have absolutely no regrets about taking her on to play the role of Chutki. Of course, Vidya would have done it her way, and Konkona has done in her own unique style,” explains Sarkar.

While Vidya has gone on record to say that Sarkar is still angry with her for not doing the role, Sarkar laughs it off. “How can one be angry with one’s own daughter? Vidya had date problems, so she could not do the film. I was a bit taken aback, that’s it.” Will he ever work with Vidya again? “If her dates permit,” he laughs.

Yash Raj vs Vidhu

Sarkar has had to leave quite a few people behind to make this film, including Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who produced his acclaimed debut ‘Parineeta’. It was an open secret that Chopra was none too happy with Sarkar’s decision to move to the Yash Raj banner, but it seems all’s well now.

“Vinod has seen the promos and the rushes of the film and he told me that he loved them. It is not like I deserted anyone. Adi (Chopra) narrated the story to me and I loved it. I wanted to direct the film, and Yash Raj is a great production to work with.”