/> Speculations about the source material for Vikram Bhatt's latest film grow by the day. While earlier it was being said that Ankahee is based on Vikram's tumultuous relationship with Sushmita Sen, another theory doing the rounds is that Ankahee is actually a remake of Vijay Anand's Tere Mere Sapne, the story of a struggling doctor's attempts to come to terms with ideological contradictions in his profession and his extra-marital affair with an actress.

Tere Mere Sapne was inspired by the A.J. Cronin classic The Citadel.

"My film is neither based on The Citadel nor Tere Mere Sapne," clarifies Vikram Bhatt from the sets of Ankahee.

Now it seems Ankahee is actually a recreation of a very famous friendship from filmdom between Raj Kapoor and Vyjanthimala in the 1960s and the doctor who finally married the actress and rescued her from an emotional cul de sac.

"Let me clarify, Ankahee is based neither on Tere Mere Sapne nor on any real-life relationship in showbiz. It's entirely my own story. It's entirely on my life. As for Raj Kapoor and Vyjanthimala , I don't even know their story. I know only the emotional trauma in my life. My wife, Sushmita and my daughter were part of my traumatic experience. And yes, I'm using that experience to create a film.

"When Ankahee was in production trouble it was very nice of Pritish and Rongita Nandy to pick up the project overnight. They heard my story and okayed the project in 48 hours...which is the fastest ever for Pritish Nandy Communications.

Vikram admits the overnight change in the cast caused tremendous heartburn. "Originally I had signed Sanjay Suri, Rituparna Sengupta and Divya Dutta to play the three central roles. I did explain my position to Sanjay and Ritu about the change of cast. And that they had to be replaced by Aftab Shivdasani and Esha Deol.

"Divya, unfortunately , got to know through the media before I could tell her that Amisha had replaced her. I wanted to tell all three that I couldn't fight for their presence in the film. I couldn't help the situation. The new producers wanted to go with a much more established cast. I fought hard for my original cast. But finally it's the producers' money and therefore their call."

But Amisha Patel who is Vikram's real-life partner taking over from Divya Dutta raised many eyebrows. "Why should it? It may make others uncomfortable, not me. Pritish Nandy thought the project had much more commercial potential than I was originally giving it. He felt I didn't have to give it an arthouse look, hence the more commercial cast."

I've never seen Vikram so much at peace with himself. "That's because I'm finally making the film I always I wanted to make. Ankahee is a slice of my life. And yes it is based on my life. But it's not Sushmita Sen's story. It never was. I 've gone through an extra-marital relationship and have watched my marriage fall apart.

"Naturally those experiences are part of Ankahee. I cannot deny them. Ankahee is my most personal film to date. But because of the media glare, and all the speculation I decided to change the protagonist's character from a filmmaker to a doctor. I didn't want people to think that infidelity and extra-marital relationships go on only in showbiz."

Vikram is more than happy with his new cast. "Esha is going to surprise everyone. I can't be pompous enough to think it will change her career. But people will look at Esha differently...Ankahee is a film that looks at the naked truth. It was waiting to come out of me for along time."

Vikram comments on the sudden audience curiosity about affairs of the heart among the rich and the famous. "I guess everyone wants to know what celebrities do in their bedrooms. You can call it a healthy curiosity. All I want is for audiences to come out of Ankahee looking at the characters as flawed people making inevitable mistakes in life. It's an entirely cathartic experience for me.

"It's the story of a man who messes up personally. Ankahee is the most important film I ever made in my life.There're times when I just break down as I shoot this film. I'm re-living my past in Akahee."

And when is Vikram making his relationship with Amisha official? "I don't know. At this point of time she's chasing her career, and I'm chasing her. I'm ready whenever she is. This relationship is for keeps. But I don't want to say much. In the past I've been terribly hurt after taking a relationship to my heart."