by Subhash K Jha

The release of Kalpana Lajmi's eagerly awaited Chingari has been postponed from December to January, and may be delayed further.

"I don't know when I'll be able to release my film... I can't, until my leading lady Sushmita Sen decides to promote and project the film.

She's not just my USP, but also the film's soul. Chingari, without Sush, is like Agra, without the Taj Mahal. You cannot imagine the film without her — she's as integral to it as Shabana Azmi in Arth, or Dimple Kapadia in Rudaali. I can't take the film to the audience without her."

Why isn't Sushmita cooperating? The actress has taken offence at the "outing" of her kiss in the film.

She feels the story was leaked by Kalpana, purely for sensationalism. The actress was offended over this publicity stunt that she called up the producer Vikas Sahni and refused to support the promotion of the film.

To make the matters worse Anuj just pitched in with his share of bragging about how there were too many retakes before he gave the just perfect shot with Sush.

Lajmi, however made umpteen calls to Sush to explain that she had nothing to with Anuj's story but she won't budge.

Say Lajmi, "I don't blame Sushmita at all for her annoyance. She's a lady of great dignity; as a woman and a sensitive filmmaker, I completely empathise with her. But she can't punish the film for the wrongs of an individual."

"Though I'm in no way responsible for what happened, I apologise to Sush," says Kalpana.

Inspired from a true story, Chingari is a tale of a prostitute from Rangpur, who is brought up in a red light area called Lal Batti, and falls in love with a postman, Chandan Mishra.