Director Vikram Bhatt has denied reports that his latest film "Ankahee" is based on the relationship between Bollywood's showman Raj Kapoor and actress Vyjayanthimala. He says it is "a slice of his own life".

Speculation about the source material for "Ankahee" has been growing. According to some reports, the film is a recreation of the famous friendship between Raj Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala in the 1960s and the doctor who finally married her and rescued her from an emotional cul-de-sac.

While it was being said that "Ankahee" was based on Vikram's tumultuous relationship with Sushmita Sen, another theory doing the rounds is that it is actually a remake of Vijay Anand's "Tere Mere Sapne", the story of a struggling doctor's attempts to come to terms with ideological contradictions in his profession and his extra marital affair with an actress.

"Tere Mere Sapne" was inspired by the A.J. Cronin classic "The Citadel".

"Let me clarify, 'Ankahee' is based neither on 'Tere Mere Sapne' nor on any real life relationship in showbiz. It is entirely my own story. It is entirely on my life.

"As for Raj Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala, I don't even know their story. I know only the emotional trauma in my life.

"My wife, Sushmita (ex-girlfriend) and my daughter were part of my traumatic experience. And, yes, I am using that experience to create a film," Vikram told IANS.

I have never seen Vikram so much at peace with himself.

"That's because I am finally making the film I always I wanted to make. 'Ankahee' is a slice of my life. And, yes, it is based on my life. But it's not Sushmita Sen's story. It never was.

"I have gone through an extra-marital relationship and have watched my marriage fall apart. Naturally those experiences are part of 'Ankahee'. I cannot deny them.

" 'Ankahee' is my most personal film to date. But because of the media glare and all the speculation I decided to change the protagonist's character from a filmmaker to a doctor. I didn't want people to think that infidelity and extra-marital relationships go on only in showbiz," he added.

He said Pritish Nandy bailed out his film by agreeing to finance it.

"When 'Ankahee' was in production trouble, it was very nice of Pritish and Rangita Nandy to pick up the project overnight. They heard my story and okayed the project in 48 hours, which is the fastest ever for Pritish Nandy Communications."

Vikram admits an overnight change in the cast caused tremendous heartburn.

"Originally I had signed Sanjay Suri, Rituparna Sengupta and Divya Dutta to play the three central roles. I did explain my position to Sanjay and Ritu about the change of cast. They had to be replaced by Aftab Shivdasani and Esha Deol.

"Divya, unfortunately, got to know through the media before I could tell her that Amisha (Patel) had replaced her. I wanted to tell all three that I couldn't fight for their presence in the film.

"The new producers wanted to go with a much more established cast. I fought hard for my original cast. But finally it's the producers' money and therefore their call."

But Amisha, Vikram's real-life partner, taking over from Divya raised many eyebrows.

"Why should it? It may make others uncomfortable, not me. Pritish Nandy thought the project had much more commercial potential than I was originally giving it. He felt I didn't have to give it an art-house look, hence the more commercial cast."

He is more than happy with his new cast.

"Esha is going to surprise everyone. I can't be pompous enough to think it will change her career. But people will look at Esha differently... 'Ankahee' is a film that looks at the naked truth. It was waiting to come out of me for a long time."

Vikram comments on the sudden audience curiosity about affairs of the heart among the rich and the famous.

"I guess everyone wants to know what celebrities do in their bedrooms. You can call it a healthy curiosity. All I want is for audiences to come out of 'Ankahee' looking at the characters as flawed people making inevitable mistakes in life. It is an entirely cathartic experience for me."

And when is Vikram making his relationship with Amisha official?

"I don't know. At this point of time she is chasing her career and I am chasing her. I am ready whenever she is. This relationship is for keeps.

"But I don't want to say much. In the past I have been terribly hurt after taking a relationship to my heart."