Esha Gupta may be a Vishesh Films protégé, thanks to them giving her a big break in Jannat 2 opposite Emraan Hashmi, and then taking her on board for Raaz 3, replacing Jacqueline Fernandez in the film. But the Bhatts are in no mood to promote her this time around. Despite having shot

with her for a poster for Raaz 3, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt chose to release the one without Esha, as he believes Bipasha Basu is a better bet for the first look. Mahesh says, “We’re releasing all the looks in phases.” He explains that movie producers usually release promotional material with the bigger stars first, before turning the spotlight onto the smaller actors.

Prod him further about Esha’s absence and he says, “Every actor whines, wanting to be on top. What should matter is how much screen presence you get. Esha has done a good job in the film.” Meanwhile, Esha didn’t show up for the music launch of the film. But the actor insists, “There are no rifts. Before the launch of the first promo, we had a meeting, but I was busy with other commitments and could not take time out (for the launch).” Esha does admit that she had shot for the poster, but reserves comments about why she isn’t in it. “We did shoot for the poster, but the producer and director are the ones who decide the final layout,” she explains.