Director Madhur Bhandarkar had made Trishakti which few people had heard of and even less saw. Then, he made Chandni Bar, the haunting story revolving around the lives of bar girls in the city of Mumbai. The film turned Madhur into a success story overnight, and he became a hot commodity who was flooded with offers from innumerable producers. Why Chandni Bar had worked was because of the director`s treatment, and also since Tabu came up with a fascinating performance in her role of Mumtaz.

Following this success, it was being hoped by many that Madhur would cast Tabu in his next film once more. But the director, who now has bigger budgets to play around with, is toying with the names of Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor for his forthcoming films. Tabu does not even figure in his wish list, and the actress is rumoured to be really mad at Madhur because of that. Tabu has her reasons. Her performance in Chandni Bar was hugely responsible for the film`s success, and so much so that when Kajol got the Best Actress award in the recent Filmfare awards, many were absolutely shocked at the populist verdict. Despite not getting the award, Tabu might justly feel that Madhur should have paid her back because she had agreed to work with him when he was a nonentity in Bollywood.

Of course, Madhur can also respond by saying that Tabu is not cut out for the role for which Raveena and Karisma are being considered. If he is eyeing the box office where Tabu may be less hot, that explanation might work even if he might not be telling the truth.