Melissa D’costa:

Survival of the fittest is the only way to get to the top, and motherhood is often viewed as a spanner in the works for professional women. Take the case of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who has been dropped from her latest film Heroine because she is pregnant. Director Madhur Bhandarkar should be worried.

The country's laws protect women from such discrimination in the corporate world, where they can even take their firms to court if they can prove discrimination in the workplace, i.e. denied a promotion or let go of because of the bump. Bachchan is clearly a victim, but will she seek legal recourse against Bhandarkar and the production house?

According to an insider, Madhur met the actress after the big news was announced and informed her that she was no longer required to shoot for the film. It was a big blow to Ash when she was told she could not be part of the project in her current state! ARB is still clueless about whether the film has been shelved permanently or she's been dropped from the film.

It has long been established that unfavourable treatment due to pregnancy is a form of gender discrimination. Ketan Gupta of LegalEye Associates says, "As per the constitution, discrimination on the basis of gender can invite legal action. However, this is subject to contractual terms and conditions agreed upon by both parties." Advocate Rahul V adds, "Generally in the glamour world, contracts stipulate that they can be terminated if the model/actor gets pregnant during the course of an assignment and is not deemed fit to deliver as per the requirements of her role. Most contracts also have a clause where the actor/model is supposed to be paid a certain compensation for the time invested in the project before it is terminated."

In this particular case there is no contract between the actress and the production house, but Ash has shot for the film and wants to complete it. The filmmaker, however, is not relenting. Over to you, Ash!