Aishwarya Rai's pregnancy set to stall Madhur Bhandarkar's film?

It's celebration time at the Bachchan household as bahu, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's expecting her first child after four years of marriage to actor Abhishek Bachchan. Even though the couple had rubbished all speculation of Aishwarya’s pregnancy so far, an overjoyed Amitabh broke the news on Twitter late on Tuesday night and congratulatory messages haven't stopped pouring in since.

Amitabh also issued a statement saying: “Jaya and I are delighted at the news. We thank all our friends and well-wishers for their affection and seek your blessings and love in the coming days.”

Among the many who called to congratulate them includes filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, whose film Heroine stars Aishwarya as the lead and for which she has already completed five days of shooting.

According to sources, the news took Madhur by surprise, who till now believed that the actoress’ weight gain was only film-related, as her character required her to look a bit  plump in certain portions of the film.

“Though Madhur’s really happy for the Bachchans, he can’t stop worrying about his own baby, Heroine, for which Rai is yet to complete a 50-55 day schedule,” said a source. However, the filmmaker apparently has been given assurance from Aishwarya that she’ll complete the film by July-end, after the filmmaker met the star yesterday.

A source close to the star too insisted that Aishwarya hopes to complete the film before she goes on a break to enjoy her pregnancy. However, insiders feel that Madhur may have to bring about some changes to accommodate Aishwarya to look the part.

“Part of the film required her to look her svelte self, but that is impossible considering her pregnancy. So, either he will have to rely on the camera angles to not let it affect the continuity of the film or opt for another actress altogether. That would really depend on when the baby bump begins to show. But Madhur’s really keen on Aishwarya, so he may go ahead with her,” the source added.

“At this point, he’s not even thinking of the promotions which were due to happen November onwards. Ash is a big star, and he knows her motherhood will not affect the success of the film. Right now, he’s only worried about the film’s completion and whether he will have to change his lead once again.” Interestingly, the film had earlier been put on hold when  Kareena Kapoor backed out of the project citing date trouble.

The only other film that Aishwarya has in hand is Rajkumar Santoshi’s romantic-comedy Ladies and Gentlemen opposite Abhishek. The film is apparently on hold  as Abhishek’s not been able to give the required dates so far.