Aamir's showdown with director Reema Kagti!

Aamir Khan's determination to control every aspect of his films, be they as an actor, director or producer has led to several clashes in the past-with Ram Gopal Varma, with Amol Gupte, with Anusha Rizvi.

The buzz in Bollywood is that last fortnight, the finicky actor had a showdown with Reema Kagti, director of his latest film, Talaash over the second half of the movie.

The film, a cop-drama starring Rani Mukerji and Kareena Kapoor alongside Aamir has been in the making for a while and by the looks of it may take even longer before it hits the screen.

Aamir who lost weight and grew a moustache for his role in the film, showed the film to a select group of friends and relatives as is his wont. Based on the feedback and his own instincts, the actor suggested changes to the film and which is where the trouble started.

It is learnt that Aamir called for a meeting last fortnight at his home in Bandra with Talaash producers Riteish Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar and the director Reema Kagti. Aamir suggested re-shooting certain portions of the film and insisted that he wanted to sit on the final edit.

At which, sources say, Kagti lost her cool and put her foot down, refusing to re-shoot. It was a brief but ugly altercation which only hardened Aamir's stance. The actor is reported to have told his guests that no one had spoken to him thus in all his life.

That Kagti and Aamir's wife Kiran Rao were once flat-mates made the matters more awkward. The Rs 40-crore film which was supposed to release in June initially, is now slated for a November release but those in the know say that following this showdown, the film may be further delayed.

Aamir who is determined to ensure the changes he has suggested, is committed to Dhoom 3 which he starts shooting next week.

A source close to the film told us, "Aamir tried his best to persuade Reema to make the changes and for which he pushed his dates for Dhoom 3 but he can't do that any longer."

When contacted, Reema Kagti insisted that there had been no showdown. "Both Aamir and Farhan are happy with the film and Talaash will release on November 30," she said. It will be interesting to see if it's with or without the changes suggested by the fastidious Khan.