It's a recurring trend with forthcoming movies like "Heroine" and "Raaz 3" delving into the similar theme. Some are biographical, some fiction and others thinly veiled fiction.
Luthria's "The Dirty Picture" portrayed the darker side of filmdom to much success. From her meteoric rise to her gradual downfall, from her financial crunch to private dilemma, the film captured the brilliant and dark moments in southern sex symbol Silk Smitha's life.
Now all eyes are on Madhur Bhandarkar's much-anticipated "Heroine", in regards to the rise and fall of an actress called Mahi Arora, played by Kareena
Releasing Sept 21, the drama is a mixture of fiction and reality and expectations are high. Bhandarkar told that "Heroine" is actually a journey of an actress within the contemporary world.
"It's going to portray how an actress reaches the highest and the way her life goes through ups and downs. A LARGE NUMBER OF catharsis and trauma is shown within the film.
"The movie is set Mahi (Kareena) and her journey towards stardom... IT'S NOT THAT I AM saying it isn't inspired by Hollywood or Bollywood; there may be inspiration. I MIGHT say that 70 percent of it's realistic and 30 percent fiction, " he added.
Devika Rani, Madhubala, Rekha, Hema Malini, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai... actresses in every era have evoked a substantial amount of curiosity among fans who're desperate to learn about their likes and dislikes, food habits, strengths and weaknesses.
If Subodh Mukherjee tried to do it with 1970 release "Abhinetri", Benegal did it together with his 1977 offbeat movie "Bhumika", in response to the lifetime of 1940s actress Hansa Wadkar. Even Guru Dutt gave an insight into the usually tragic compromises that girls in showbiz need to make in his classic "Kaagaz Ke Phool".
In 2007, Farah Khan's "Om Shanti Om" showed the dreamy eyed fascination of a fan for his heroine, while Zoya Akhtar's 2009 directorial debut "Luck Unintentionally" depicted the interior story of Bollywood on-screen.
Mahesh Bhatt portrayed late actress Parveen Babi's tragic lead to 2006 movie "Woh Lamhe".
Now Mahesh Bhatt's protege Vikram Bhatt is toeing the same line along with his forthcoming romantic-horror film "Raaz 3".
A sequel to 2009 film "Raaz - The Mystery Continue", "Raaz 3" revolves across the lifetime of a movie director and two actresses.
Said Bipasha Basu, who plays one of the crucial actresses: "ALL OF US undergo a struggle but we decide to not show it. But it surely is essential to handle it from time to time and attach. This is the reason I agreed to do that character."
"Raaz 3" also stars Emraan Hashmi and Esha Gupta and is scheduled to release Sept 7.
Producer Mahesh Bhatt described it as a cocktail of 3 true stories.
"One is ready Shagufta, who has observed how people bask in black magic to improve their career. I DO KNOW it sounds bizarre, but that is the truth."
"Bipasha was in a stage in her real life where she was heartbroken and her career was declining to ground zero. With the landscape full of new heroines, she had a terrible phase, " he said, adding that Vikram Bhatt also was in the same situation when certainly one of his girlfriends broke his heart.
