/> Pooja Bhatt's third directorial venture Dhokha hasn't been smooth -sailing either for her or for her debutant hero Muzamil Ibrahim.

In fact their rapport declined to such an extent that the forever-fiery Pooja refused to direct Muzamil. Before Dhokha got into deep waters, the industry's eternal saviour Mahesh Bhatt stepped into to rescue the film from closing down.

A very prominent member of the cast reveals, "It's true Pooja's rapport with Ibrahim went downhill at a rapid pace. Things came to a point where the two just wouldn't speak to each other. We were all apprehensive about the film's future.

Dhokha is too pertinent and powerful a film (it's about the Muslim identity and international Islamic terrorism) to be sacrificed for anyone's interests, not even the director the the hero. That's why Bhatt Saab decided to step in."

Mahesh Bhatt who resolutely relinquished direction direction in 1989 with the haunting Zakham was back on the sets of Dhokha to do some serious damage control for his daughter.

However he denies taking over the directorial designation from his dynamic daughter. "Get this straight. Dhokha is directed by Pooja, period. Yes, after the tiff between Pooja and Ibrahim I was on the sets when the key scenes were being shot to make the hero comfortable.

Otherwise I'm done with film direction for good. True, my presence bleeds into the films I write. The directors who work for my production house need to get the monkey of my creativity off their back."

But the actors from Dhokha say Mahesh Bhatt is underplaying his contribution to the end-product.

"Things were really bad between Pooja and her leading man. If it wasn't for Bhatt Saab Dhokha couldn't have been completed."