Director Vikram Bhatt examines the tragic impact of his extramarital involvement with actress Sushmita Sen in "Ankahee" releasing Friday.

The film, starring Aftab Shivdasani, Esha Deol and Amisha Patel, reveals the intense emotional and mental crisis Bhatt's wife and daughter went through after the devastating disclosure of his affair with Sushmita.

The infidelity story goes like this:

Shekhar (Aftab Shivdasani) is a role model in his job as a doctor and his personal life is equally inspiring - he's got a doting wife Nandita (Amisha Patel) and a loving daughter Sheena. A perfect family till Miss World and Bollywood star, Kavya Krishna (Esha Deol), walks into his life.

Shekhar falls head over heels in love with beautiful and vibrant Kavya. For lonely Kavya, his entry is like a blessing in disguise.

His obsession for her increases by the day and nothing seems more important than Kavya and his need to be with her. He gets rid of his wife, daughter and work to create space for her.

On the other hand, Nandita is unable to come to terms with the fact that the only man she's ever loved has walked out of her life without a second thought. Not only that, he has also abandoned their daughter for the other woman.

Long ago Mahesh Bhatt made "Arth" based on his extramarital involvement with Parveen Babi and the film became a milestone in his career. The power packed performances by Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil are still talked about.

Produced by Pritish Nandy Communications, the cast of "Ankahee" is not as impressive as "Arth" and the theme is not new either. There is some scepticism about the film, but what can lure audiences is the opportunity to take a peek into their favourite actress' private life.