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Wedding bells?

Sharmila Taliculam

Another day, another controversy. This time round, it is Karisma Kapoor whose fair name is in danger of being besmirched. It all started, as usual, with a rumour -- that wedding bells were chiming in the blue-eyed Kapoor's ears, hence she had decided to quit the industry. And she was returning the signing amounts she had been paid for a number of projects.

Then came a second rumour that, since little sister Kareena had now entered the film industry, big-hearted Karisma did not want her to face competition in her home. Hence, Karisma backing off from even more films.

The whispers shocked Bombay's film industry. For Karisma, who is still riding on the success of Biwi No 1, is considered to be one of the three top actresses in Bollywood today.

Her value has been steadily rising ever since she won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance in Raja Hindustani. She is being offered the best banners and strong, heroine-oriented subjects.

She is, in a nutshell, on a roll. That could stop suddenly if these rumours gain credence. No producer would, after all, want to touch her if she is planning to quit the industry.

Which is why it was rather disturbing when reports of Karisma's impending exit from the industry started appearing in the media. With reports that she was getting married, and the groom-to-be was none other than childhood friend Jeh, scion of the Wadia dynasty, son of Bombay Dyeing magnate Nusli and Gladrags magazine editor, Maureen.

Director Deepak Shivdasani, who directed the actress in two films Krishna and Rakshak and was scheduled to direct her in Yeh Raaste Hai Pyar Ke, told rediff.com, "She [Karisma] returned my signing amount, saying she is resigning from the industry. She is quitting to get married."

Industry sources, though, indicate otherwise. They say Jeh and Karisma has been good friends -- in the real sense of the term! -- and have never considered marrying each other.

"Karisma was appalled that rumours like these were being spread about her," says Indu Mirani, assistant editor, Box Office, a Bombay-based trade magazine. Mirani has just returned from Hyderabad, where Karisma was shooting for a David Dhawan film. "I asked her about her marriage plans," she says. " I even told her that the event was supposed to take place on December 25."

A shocked Karisma, apparently, flatly denied the rumours.

The fact, for the record, is that Karisma has returned only one signing amount. To one director, Deepak Shivdasani. Of one film, Yeh Raaste Hai Pyar Ke, that co-stars Ajay Devgan and Madhuri Dixit.

What is not known is why the signing amount was returned.

Both Karisma and Shivdasani have different stories to the issue.

Karisma says she returned the signing amount when she realised she would be able to allot Shivdasani the dates he required. She denies having ever told Shivdasani that she was quitting the industry because she was getting married.

"There is no truth to the story at all," Karisma told rediff.com. "I am not sure why is he saying that. I did return the signing amount to him, but that was because I realised I had a lot of backlog [of work] to catch up with and I realised I would not be able to give him the necessary dates. I have done two films with him already and I have nothing against him."

Which, ideally should be the case since the Shivdasani-Karisma combine has resulted in two hit films. "She was quite excited about her role in this film as well," says Mirani. "I don’t know what happened suddenly. One can’t really predict what goes wrong with actors and actresses. But now she is very sure she doesn’t want to do the film," says Mirani.

Shivdasani, on the other hand, is vehement. "I am not sure why is she denying it, but that is what she told me when she returned my signing amount." Not wasting any time over his heroine's betrayal, he has signed on Preity Zinta and plans to begin shooting for his film in the immediate future.

Yet, he is extremely miffed about the fact that Karisma backed off after giving her dates, since it was on that assurance that he went ahead and erected expensive sets for his film. He admits to being very angry when she cancelled the dates because he had to postpone the shoots and lost a lot of money on the sets. Though, he refused to diclose the amount, he did indicate that it was not a measly sum.

There has been some speculation that Ajay Devgan could be at the root of the problem. "The spat between Ajay and Karisma happened a long time ago," Mirani rejects the idea outright. "She has made up with Ajay now. She also has signed two films with him -- this one and one with Nitin Manmohan. As far as I know, she is still doing Manmohan's film. She probably was not interested in Deepak Shivdasani's film, which could be why she returned the signing amount."

There is, of course, the fact that Karisma has been accepting fewer films. She has become extremely choosy about her roles. So much so that last year did not see the release of a single Karisma-starrer. And this year has witnessed only two releases -- Silsila Hai Pyar Ka and Biwi No 1.

As far as Shivdasani's Yeh Raaste Hai Pyar Ke stands, Karisma was initially reported to be thrilled with her role because it was 'different.' One is not clear when she changed her mind, but change her mind she has. And definitely.