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Indian Express

The director of Sarfarosh made a movie about sperm donation starring Himesh Reshammiya and Rajkummar Rao; it never saw the light of day

Himesh Reshammiya recently made a return to acting with the parody film Badass Ravikumar; the movie made over Rs 10 crore during its box office run. It marked the music composer and singer's first lead role in five years. Around a decade ago, Himesh headlined several films; this was at the peak of his career as a music composer and singer. Since then, he has evolved into a kitsch character on social media, with his memorable catchphrases and workout videos. But, back when he was trying to launch himself as a sincere actor, he starred in a film titled A New Love Ishtory, which never saw the light of day. Several reasons were given behind its shelving, including unfinished production, and the release of a similar project was put together by John Abraham and Shoojit Sircar. This project was Ayushmann Khurrana's debut film, Vicky Donor. On the latest episode of The Internet Said So podcast, hosted by comedians Varun Thakur, Aadar Malik, Kautuk Srivastava and Neville Shah, they discussed terrible Bollywood movies. Their discussion veered towards the topic of Himesh, which is when A New Love Ishtory was brought up. The film's narrative revolves around an unemployed stunt performer, who is forced to sell his sperm to make ends meet. Years later, he is introduced to a young girl who happens to be his daughter. He bonds with the child, despite the protests of her wealthy mother who wants her to have nothing to do with him. Also read – 'Makers wanted Shah Rukh Khan, not Aamir Khan in Sarfarosh', reveals director John Matthew Matthan, shares update on Sarfarosh 2 A New Love Ishtory was directed by none other than John Matthew Matthan, best known for the acclaimed Aamir Khan-starrer Sarfarosh. The movie was announced in 2007, but the 2008 recession led to speculation about its budget being slashed and the film being delayed. Producer Bhushan Kumar spoke to Bollywood Hungama at the time, and rubbished these reports. Also mentioning the film Kajraare, which featured Himesh alongside the Pakistani actor Sara Loren, Bhushan Kumar said, 'Both Kajraare and A New Love Ishtory will be as per schedule and there will be no compromise in quality. We are not cutting corners or costs. Quality is the key.' Despite his claims, however, the movie was never completed. Three years after making these comments, Bhushan Kumar and Himesh reportedly had a falling out. Kajraare was given a limited release, and A New Love Ishtory was caught in limbo. A Times of India report from 2011 said that John Matthew Matthan was 'flummoxed' by the uncertainty surrounding his film, after having spent three years on it. The report quoted a source as saying, 'One felt that Bhushan would order a shoot towards October 2010, but Kajraare ke baad samajh aagaya ke New Love Ishtory ka kya hoga.' A person from Mathan's camp was quoted as saying, 'Matthew is just the director of the film. There has been no word from T-Series to complete the film. What can Matthew do?' Bhushan Kumar responded to queries about the film, and said that he had decided to delay its release until after Himesh's Ishq Unplugged is released. Himesh reportedly had a three-film deal with T-Series. As more time passed, the chances of A New Love Ishtory ever being completed became slimmer. In 2012, Matthan spoke to Bangalore Mirror about the latest hurdle. Reportedly, after Himesh and T-Series ironed out their differences, the film Vicky Donor came along. And its similarities to A New Love Ishtory made Bhushan Kumar wonder if he should cut his losses. 'My film was 95% complete, but then John came up with Vicky Donor,' Matthan said, adding that he will 'be back'. Unfortunately, the filmmaker hasn't released a film since 2005. A pirated print of A New Love Ishtory found its way on YouTube. A decade after his last interview, Matthan spoke to Bollywood Hungama about the film, and distanced himself from the version that was put out on YouTube. 'I can't claim that film to be mine. They completed the film without my knowledge or awareness, and I didn't want to get into a fight. I don't even know when they released it. They have no right to put my name on it as it's not my film. I only shot half of the film. I wanted to redo certain things. It was a film on sperm donation, much before Vicky Donor (2012) was released. Sadly, it got delayed and the star and the producer got into a fight.'