The old saying "A woman can make or break a home" appears to hold true in the case of actor Ali Merchant currently playing the lead in Ek Thi Rajkumari on Zee Next and actress Madhura Naik who plays Sonia in Bidaai.

The two who were thick pals for over four years, cannot see eye to eye anymore. It transpires that Ali has threatened Madhura to stop spreading rumours about him and his character, adding that would get her kicked out of the industry if she continues to do so.

An aggrieved Madhura explains, "I had come back from the shooting of a modeling assignment in Thailand and headed straight to the sets of Bidaai. Once there, I met Sara Khan (who plays the lead Sadhana in Bidaai), who told me that she is getting engaged to Ali Merchant, who is a friend of mine. I was shocked to hear this, since I believed she was already seeing Chirag Khandelwal, who is another dear friend of mine. She inquired about Ali since she knows that Ali and I were good friends. As a well-wisher, I just told her to be careful and not to rush into a relationship as she barely knows Ali, having met him just a few days ago."

"But in turn she told Ali that I have been speaking ill about him. Instead of coming up to me for clarifications, Ali started telling my friends that he would get me kicked out of the industry. He is also blatantly lying to everyone that it was him who introduced me to the industry. Incidentally, I was discovered by Balaji Telefilms. I am known around the world because of my modeling assignments, whereas he is just a local TV actor. He has no powers to kick me out of anywhere," chides the actress.

On the other hand, Ali retorts, "I feel Madhura is too small to be even discussed. All these years, she tried to woo me, in vain. She is hungry for publicity and this too is nothing more than a publicity stunt. Initially, I was shocked to read her statements but later realised she is not worth commenting about. It was me who got her the small time role in Amber Dhara. People know who Ali is and so such petty issues don't bother me."

Well, the war doesn't seem to have ended as the mud-slinging continues. Watch this space.