Aishwarya Rai Bachchan issues legal notice to UTV

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has reportedly issued a legal notice to Madhur Bhandarkar and UTV prohibiting the use of the footage and stills she shot for Heroine earlier this year.

The actress was dropped from the film after announcing her pregnancy, since director Madhur Bhandarkar felt it would be too difficult for her to continue with the demanding shoot.

A source told IANS: "Ash is fed up of the whole thing. She's been ethical and professional about the matter. But, considering the way things ended on a sour note with Bhandarkar, she does not want him to use any of the stills or scenes that she had already shot at any point in the future."

The Guzaarish star also recently returned the fee paid to her by UTV.

"We never asked for the money but we did receive a cheque of Rs 22.5 lakh (£30,000)," a UTV representative said.

Rai Bachchan's spokesperson said: "It was just a token amount that she had got from UTV. She thought it was fair to return it, even though they insisted that she should keep it, considering she had shot for so many days."

A source close to Bhandarkar said the director appreciated Rai Bachchan's gesture.

"It was a professional move. The eight days that Aishwarya shot the film cost a lot of money and there were big losses incurred after the film was stalled," he said.

Kareena Kapoor has confirmed that she will take over from Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and is reportedly charging a record amount for rescuing the film.