Should the no-pregnancy clause be included in an actress' contract?

The buzz has it that Vidya Balan has been replaced by Kangna Ranaut in Sujoy Ghoshrsquos next film that is ready to go on the floors Balanrsquos favourite director apparently finalised another name for the film due to her pregnancy While there is no confirmation yet about this an actress letting go of projects due to pregnancy is not exactly new in Bollywood It maybe noted here that Kareena Kapoor replaced Aishwarya RaiBachchan in the film Heroine after director Madhur Bhandarkar learnt that RaiBachchan was pregnantVidya BalanInterestingly in a recent interview to hitlist Vidya had said ldquoI have signed contracts which specify that I canrsquot get pregnant for the next two yearsrdquo But with recent media reports stating otherwise the no pregnancy clause has come under the spotlight againKareena Kapoor KhanMukesh Bhatt who is producing Hamari Adhuri Kahani starring Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi says ldquoIt is mandatory to have a no pregnancy clause as the actress needs to show her commitment towards a project It is a healthy clause and is needed in todayrsquos timesrdquo Bhattrsquos film is supposed to go the floors soon But now with reports of Balanrsquos alleged pregnancy the fate of the film is uncertain He says that he had met the actress just before she left for the US and will be meeting her once she returns to India next week ldquoI donrsquot think Vidya is pregnant She wouldrsquove told us if she was expecting I have complete faith in her she will not keep anyone in the dark And even if she is pregnant I am happy for herrdquoAishwarya Rai BachchanGiven that a lot of money is riding on films mdash as also the fact that they are all being made in a stipulated period of time mdash the stakes today are higher than in the earlier days says Hema Malini The actress who was pregnant during the making of Satte Pe Satta says ldquoBack then film shoots would go on endlessly and it was not always possible for an artiste to wait for the producer to finish shooting Today the no pregnancy clause should be made mandatory but only for a certain time period say a maximum of six months If the artiste gets pregnant before the film goes on the floors she should inform the producer But if the film gets delayed for other reasons then itrsquos wrong to expect the actress to wait She canrsquot be held responsible in such a situationrdquoSome more industry people are drumming up support for the clause When Aishwarya was replaced by Kareena in Heroine actress and activist Shabana Azmi had tweeted ldquoInsurance companies in Hollywood insist on many clauses including nopregnancy to safeguard their huge monetary investments Itrsquos not sexist at allrdquoMadhur Bhandarkar who allegedly incurred losses to the tune of R4 crore when he realised that Aishwarya wouldnrsquot be able to do the film due to her pregnancy had vented his frustration to hitlist ldquoThe entire event would not have taken place if the actress would have informed the state of her health hellip an impending maternity The truth was hidden from usrdquoIndeed when a huge sum is invested in preproduction mdash which includes workshops and developing the heroinersquos look mdash a pregnancy can put a spanner in the works But interpersonal relationships are equally important say some industry insidersFor instance producer Ramesh Taurani says that in Bollywood work is centred around the rapport between the concerned people and contracts are secondary He says that itrsquos alright for an actress to give importance to her personal life ldquoAt the end of the day it is just about a film and I donrsquot think itrsquos a big deal If a film hasnrsquot gone on the floors the question of monetary loss does not arise at allrdquoIt may be pointed out here that Kareena Kapoor who walked out of Ram Leela soon after her marriage allegedly prompted filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali to say that he didnrsquot want a married heroine to play Juliet in the film Kareena makes a valid point ldquoWe are constantly trying to ape the West If we want the no pregnancy clause to be included in the contract then actors here should be insured just like they are in HollywoodrdquoLawyer Ameet Naik a legal consultant to many producers says that a no pregnancy clause is a must ldquoThe idea is to secure the producer for making a significant investment for his filmrsquos production The lead actress of a film conceiving during the filming schedule can cause irreparable damage to all stakeholders of the film Also there is no insurance cover for such a contingencyrdquoAfter 12 years of marriage Juhi Chawla continues to work in Bollywood and she is yet to see such a clause ldquoTodayrsquos world is contract driven Soon they may have to be signed by all newly married actressesrdquo