Vidya Balan, who confessed to have had a fallout with filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh, is now apparently maintaining distance from her 'Paa' director R Balki. Taking cue, we look at actors who over time turned away from their mentors

In almost every actor's life comes a film which proves to be a game changer in their career and, quite expectedly, the director becomes their godfather overnight. While some remain grateful to their mentors for a long period of time, others choose to go their own ways and turn strangers to the person who gave them their 'big break'. Though there may be more than what meets the eye, it is no secret that relationships in Bollywood are generally based on convenience and hence, short lived.


Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan recently confessed that she is not on talking terms with her 'Kahaani' director Sujoy Ghosh. Apparently, their relation soured when the actress withdrew from his 'Durga Rani Singh' project last year citing health issues. The director was said to have approached Kangna Ranaut and Kareena Kapoor Khan for the film and when both of them turned it down, he had to shelve it.


Sujoy Ghosh

The latest we hear is that Vidya is maintaining distance from R Balki, who directed her in the widely acclaimed 2009 film, 'Paa'. Apparently, the filmmaker had invited her for Shamitabh's music launch but she excused herself since she was holidaying in the US with hubby Siddharth Roy Kapur.


R Balki

Vidya was also supposed to attend the film's screening but rumours have it that she decided to give it a miss despite being in town. As gossip mongers rack their brains over the possible reasons for Vidya "avoiding" Balki, hitlist highlights some instances when actors stopped talking to their mentors or refused to acknowledge them...

Protege: Katrina Kaif
Mentor: Ayesha Shroff
She was introduced to the Bollywood audience as one of the three cheesy, two-piece-wearing bimbettes in the Amitabh Bachchan-led clunker, 'Boom'.


Katrina Kaif

The much hyped film was produced by Ayesha Shroff, who not only discovered Kat but also advised her to change her surname from Turquotte to Kaif to find acceptability in India.


Ayesha Shroff

Tiding over several financial issues, the film released in 2003, but Katrina chose not to acknowledge Ayesha as her mentor or 'Boom' as her debut film. It is said that Salman Khan, her then boyfriend, used his clout to get her liplock scenes chopped off from the film's DVD.

Protege: Govinda
Mentor: David Dhawan
The Govinda-David Dhawan combo delivered back-to-back blockbusters in late '90s. But it has been over four years that the duo isn't on talking terms.


Govinda

It is said that Chi Chi was upset when he was replaced in the remake of 'Chashme Buddoor' (2013) by Rishi Kapoor.

The actor stated that although he doesn't hold any grudges against Dhawan, it was highly unlikely that he would work with him in future.

Protege: Salman Khan
Mentor: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
SLB gave Salman two of the most appreciated films of his career, 'Khamoshi' and 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'. The actor was said to have recommended a Hollywood film to the filmmaker for a remake but he cast Hrithik Roshan in it (Guzaarish) instead.


Salman Khan

This, apparently, upset Salman, who later commented that "not even a dog went to watch the film". Their verbal spat continued for some time.


Sanjay Leela Bhansali

It was much later that they both tried to make amends - while Bhansali said he was "close" to Salman, the actor also claimed to have "good working relation" with the filmmaker. But then, they have not worked together since their "fallout".

Protege: Pulkit Samrat
Mentor: Ekta Kapoor
He had a dream debut in Ekta Kapoor's popular television show 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' as Lakshya. However, things soured between them when he dragged took her to court over non-payment of dues.


Pulkit Samrat

In his complaint, the actor said that Ekta had debarred him from accepting offers outside the realm of her production house, Balaji, which had also apparently slapped a "false" notice on him for playing truant on the sets.


Ekta Kapoor

Later, Pulkit tried to make peace with her by calling her a "nice person who was surrounded by wrong people".

Protege: Shraddha Kapoor
Mentor: Aditya Chopra
The actress had apparently signed a three-film deal with Yash Raj Films a few years ago. After the first one, 'Luv Ka The End', proved to be a dud, she decided to seek work outside the famed production house. In an alleged breach of her earlier contract, she signed 'Aashiqui 2' with the Bhatts and the film was hailed as the biggest musical hit of 2013.


Shraddha Kapoor

Rumours have it that Shraddha was offered to be part of Adi Chopra's 'Aurangzeb' which required her to wear a bikini and do intimate scenes.


Aditya Chopra

But the chirpy actress turned it down and Chopra apparently swore not to work with her again. In a bid to extend an olive branch, Shraddha recently said: "Adi is my mentor. I am always available for his banner." Well, trust is a two-way street and we have to wait and watch if Adi is also willing to bury the hatchet.