Unlike a lot of the bold and beautiful Bolly babes who are ready to lock lips and shed clothes at the drop of a coin, Ayesha Takia has drawn a Dor and decided to stick by it.

The Ayesha line of control defines a strict code of conduct on screen, shunning intimate scenes and kisses. The talented actress didn’t bend the rules even if it cost her Yash Raj’s Neil and Nikki, Nagesh Kukunoor’s Ashayein and the Aamir Khan-starrer Ghajini.

And she had trouble with No Smoking, too. Ayesha, who plays the female lead opposite John Abraham, has a dual role in the film. She plays John’s wife Anjali at home and his secretary Annie in office. Anjali is a simple and sweet girl who wears long skirts and acts demure whereas Annie is a bimbette who wears tight short skirts, red lipstick and tries to seduce her boss.

A source revealed that Ayesha was fine with the wife’s role but was most uncomfortable with the secretary’s role. And when she learnt that she had to do a lovemaking scene with John, she put her adamant foot down.

Anurag Kashyap, who is otherwise known for being a hard taskmaster, bowed to his leading lady’s demands and altered her character and some scenes.

“Anurag is very good at improvisation. He came up with the brilliant idea of shooting the intimate scene differently — he shot the entire scene so aesthetically and unconventionally that it came across beautifully without revealing anything and Ayesha just loved it,” said the source.

When t2 approached Anurag, he admitted: “Yes, Ayesha had some reservation about doing an intimate scene but I totally understand that.” So how did he convince her to do the scene? “There is nothing she had to do. She had to stick to her own rules. It’s a bedroom scene and it’s all done with voices more than anything else. There is a shot of her hands which are in the focus and everything else is off screen. It’s very effective,” claimed Anurag.

So what was Ayesha’s reaction? “She loved the scene when I explained how we were going to do it but she hasn’t seen the final cut yet,” Anurag signed off.