Vikram Bhatt, whose next film Raaz 3D deals with a successful actress Maithli (Bipasha Basu) who loses her position and her love Aditya (Emraan Hashmi) to an upcoming starlet Sanjana (Esha Gupta) says, “He was better equipped to understand the psyche of Bipasha’s character, since he had been in a similar 5-year relationship.” Ameesha Patel saw heights of glory with her dream debut Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai which was followed by Gadar: Ek Prem Katha However, after that lady luck stopped shining on her, “I have seen her frustrations up front and personal. She had pinned high hopes on the YRF film, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic that unfortunately also did not click,” he avers. Going on the talks that the heroine’s character of Raaz 3D was similar to that of Ameesha, Vikram clears, “Maithli is completely different from that of Ameesha. She did not resort to black magic as Bipasha’s character does in my film,” he observes. Going back to his relationship with Ameesha, Vikram adds, “The time both of us were together, neither of us was tasting success. Even my directorial projects like Footpath and Aetbaar fell apart while I saw other filmmakers march ahead. By the time my fortunes changed for the better with 1920 and Shaapit, we had already split. ” Vikram, however, hopes that Ameesha will finally find her day under the sun; “She is producing a couple of films and I wish her all the best of luck,” the director adds. When we ask if Raaz 3D has some inputs from his personal life, Vikram quips, “My life is much more dramatic than what Raaz can ever be.” Since Bipasha is also marking her retuning with this film, we ask Vikram about his feeling about this sexy Bong babe. It was in his film Raaz made years ago that she had debuted on screen. “She has really wisened up. You can’t fool her any longer. Coming back and going away is all a part of our lives. With each passing film, Bipasha has grown as an actress. I still remember we had to chop one song sequence of Raaz because both Bipasha and Dino Morea had danced so badly. Then, we were scared that it would frighten away the audiences. Even now I tease her about that.” Before winding up, Vikram, who has been into film making since Janam in 1992, remarks, “Our industry is quite vicious in the sense that woman actor’s have a shelf life. They can’t rule the marquee beyond a particular age. A director, on the other hand, does not have such limitations. You just need to have the right story and relate it well.”