This is the story of a hot-shot producer who went through a cloud of despair.

Gaurang Doshi's big-budget prisoner-of-war thriller "Deewaar: Let's Bring Our Heroes Home" flopped in spite of a heavyweight cast helmed by Amitabh Bachchan. Then the producer's marriage broke up following accusations from his wife.

But Doshi is ready to strike again.

"I can't allow my life to be ruled by calamities. I've to ride them. And thank god for Bachchan saab when s...t happened in my life, he was the first to call and reassure me. I worship that man. I cannot make a film without him."

To no one's surprise, Bachchan is in Doshi's new project too. "It's a thriller, a very stylish thriller to be directed by Shriram Raghavan who made 'Ek Hasina Thi'."

Shriram's brother Shridhar had scripted Doshi's "Deewaar". "And that's a film I'm very proud of. Contrary to belief, it didn't flop. It did well enough to make a small profit. I am now into my new project with Bachchan saab and John Abraham...

"I'm very impressed by Shriram's capabilities. After this I plan to produce another film directed by Shriram, this time a multi-starrer. Of course, with Bachchan in it. I can't make a film without him."

The surprise packet of Doshi's new film is an item song featuring two international beauty queens.

"When I was contacted on behalf of these ladies, I immediately grabbed the chance. The Miss World pageant takes place in December. What a stroke of luck it would be for my film if the two item girls go on to be winners at the pageant! Even otherwise to have two international beauties dancing in my film is preferable to the same tired item girls we see in our films," Gaurang scoffs.

"Deewaar" had an item song by a bevy of Middle Eastern girls handpicked for the occasion.

So is Hindi cinema going seriously international? "Only for fringe thrills," grins Doshi. "As long as we have a star like Amitabh Bachchan we don't really need international stars to contribute to our cinema."