Mallika Sherawat, who is all set to go international with her film with Jackie Chan, has rejected Mahesh Bhatt's film Zaher.

The director who is her vociferous supporter said that Mallika was approached to do the role since the film required a sexy babe but she rejected the offer, as the film would not revolve around her.

The film is a story about a married couple, where the relationship undergoes a change when the wife becomes more successful than the husband.

Elucidating the facts Bhatt says, "Zaher was to be a simple love story. But we needed a highly erotic looking Indian girl. We zeroed down on Mallika Sherawat. However, she turned down the offer, saying that the film didn't revolve around her. We kept that story at the backburner and forgot about it.

A few days later, we had a new story for Mohit. While toying with names, we felt that the title Zaher would fit this one too. Now Zaher will be a triangle involving one man and two women. It'll be a story of a husband and wife whose marriage boat is rocked when the wife becomes more successful," says Bhatt.

Emraan Hashmi and Dia Mirza have been cast together again in Vishesh Films' Zaher. Mirza replaces Riya Sen.