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Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif is new entry to fans club of Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

However, Aish has a long fans list globally and she proved the metal in various films like Guru, Sarkar Raj, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Jodha Akbar, Dhoom2 and Taal. She also acclaimed globally for her Hollywood movies.

But getting a fan like Katrina Kaif in her kitty is something special for former miss world.

Believe it or not, but Katrina described Aishwarya as an icon.

Aish has a reason to smile now as she hit the headlines for wrong reasons. She allegedly threw tantrums on director Vipul Shah during shooting of ‘Action Replay' over make-up man.

However, Katrina has also showered praise on Priyanka Chopra, Ghajini fame Asin and Vidya Balan.

Mani Ratnam’s current in-production Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer Ravana is in trouble, as the money is cut-back.

“Mani was expecting to shoot the film on a lavish scale as Reliance Big Pictures were pumping in the money. But now that the world is under a financial crises, Reliance have told Mani that the cash will be considerably less than as previously said,” says a source.

The actual figures are not known, but insiders say that Mani will now only be getting Rs 60 crore, half of what he would have got initially.

Apart from Abhishek and Aishwarya, the film features Govinda, Vikram, Prabhu, Pritviraj, Karthi and Priyamani.

Bachchan bahu Aishwarya Rai has jumped on the bandwagon of recent release Dostana and its success, saying that her turning the role down was vital for the film to become a hit.

If eagle-eyed readers can remember, Ash was initially approached by producer Karan Johar for the role which was eventually played by Priyanka. At that time, Ash turned Karan down because she didn’t want the audience to get confused – as she was/is Abhishek’s wife and wanted to avoid the demand for a real life romance on screen. Now that the film has become a huge hit, Ash has decided to take some credit for it.

Talking to reporters at a fashion event few days ago, Ash said, “The chemistry was between Abhishek and John Abraham. Me being in the film would have diluted the gay angle of the film. It was offered to me initially. It would be the first film after my marriage. But, I turned down Karan (Johar) because, we wondered whether the audience would expect a love story between me and Abhishek and finally she goes off with the other guy…"

However, a source close to the Bachchan family, says. “But, doesn’t Mrs Bachchan know that the film’s gay angle is just for laughs… why can she not just accept the real reason of turning down the role… she didn’t want to upset the Bachchan house by replicating on screen something she may be doing off-screen.”

Salman Khan has a steady girlfriend in Katrina Kaif and Aishwarya Rai (now Aishwarya Bachchan) is happily married to Abhishek Bachchan. They haven't been seen together ever since the bitter split but they never run out of news. This time around, both Salman and Ash have ended up doing the same thing.

Well, Salman had said not long ago that his girlfriend Katrina could never work with Vivek Oberoi, who he held responsible for breakup with Ash. And as expected, Katrina is said to have refused to act with Vivek.

Interestingly, Aishwarya has done something similar. The news is doing the rounds that Abhishek has turned down an offer for a new film by Yash Raj Films starring Rani Mukherjee and Shahid Kapoor because of Ash. It is said that Ash don't want to see Abhishek with his ex flame Rani.

Well, Salman is controlling the moves of his girlfriend while Ash does the same to her hubby!

After leaving fans spellbound with their retro avatar in 'Dhoom-2', the classic pair of 'Jodha Akbar', Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, are yet again gearing up to work opposite each other, and the latest buzz is that the duo has signed their 3rd project together which will be directed by the maverick filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

Post 'Saawariya', Sanjay Leela Bhansali decided to take a break prior to commencing his next project; the director is now ready to work on his next 'Heera Mandi', and Sanjay was keen to cast Hrithik Roshan and Ashwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead.

Based on industry insiders, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has brought the rights to the book 'A Sudden Visit to Pakistan: Heera Mandi the Dream Home of the Whores' written by Mayank Austen Soofi which came with a steep price tag. The lead stars Hrithik and Aishwarya will be joined by eight leading ladies and six male stars of Bollywood.

Sources close to the director have revealed that Hrithik has already signed the movie and Bhansali is confident that Ash will get on board too.

So Hrithik-n-Ash fans can now rejoice as they would get to see the Bollywood's golden pair sweep you off your feet with 'Heera Mandi'

Abhishek and Aishwarya have properties all over the country and in Dubai too. The latest acquisition for the couple is a flat in Juhu’s Pinnacle Dreams which has 7 flats of approximately 2000 sq ft. each.

Since the last couple of days, rumours were rife about the junior Bachchan couple moving out of Jalsa and shifting base to the newly acquired place so as to be close to their parents home and yet have space of their own.

While Mr. and Mrs. Abhishek Bachchan were out of town shooting in the jungles of Kochi for their forthcoming film Ravana , Indiatimes Movies got in touch with Big B to know the real story. “Abhi has no plans of moving out,” said Papa Bachchan. With this, Big B has put all speculations to rest and declared that the Bachchan’s are one big happy family.

Pinnacle Dreams is Producer Vashu Bhagnani’s property and is located just opposite Jalsa. It also has a flat in the name of Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty. We asked Shilpa about when she plans to move into her new pad and she said she is not done with doing up the flat as yet.

Second trailer for 'Pink Panther 2', which opens February 6, 2009 in the US and March 13, 2009 in India. The film stars comedian, Steve Martin, as the dimwitted French inspector, Jacques Clouseau, alongside Bollywood's own leading lady, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, whose character is part of an international team of detectives working with Clouseau to find the stolen Pink Panther diamond. How thrilling, Ash! 'Pink Panther 2' filmed in Paris and various US locales. Check out the new trailer below!

While the whole country was revelling the fact that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has made it big in Hollywood by signing some great international projects, the Bachchan bahurani’s Hollywood dreams hit a roadblock. The actress has been royally ignored in the promos of the much anticipated ‘Pink Panther 2’, which was to see Ash giving some company to funny man Steve Martin.

According to reports, the damsel is quite upset with the same as she was taking the project as a stepping stone to find a foothold in Hollywood. It is believed that the actress was kicked up about being a part of the esteemed project but her anticipation came to a sad end when she learnt that she was missing from the recently out posters of the flick.

Previously, Aishwarya had also talked about her excitement over the same but guess her thrill was short-lived. There are also strong chances of her role being chopped to a certain extent.

Inside reports suggest that Ash has been given little importance in the campaign since the makers couldn’t think of a way to exploit her star status (which is majorly limited to Asia).

Here’s hoping that India’s top league actress is not refused to a mere sidekick in the Hollywood flick. Seems it’s time for Ash to say goodbye to Hollywood and Bollywood!

Beauty queen Aishwarya Rai Bachchan celebrated her 35th birthday at Hotel Rain Forest in Ernakulam where she is camping to film her latest flick 'Ravana' directed by Mani Ratnam. The film is being shot in Tamil and Hindi simultaneously.

After filming her scenes for the day, the crew arranged a Birthday bash for her in the evening and hubby Abhishek Bachchan flew in from Mumbai to be with his pretty wife. Aishwarya Rai cut a plump cake as Abhishek, Mani Ratnam and many more from the 'Ravana' team cheered on. And then the entertainment started. Complying with Ash's wish a group of dancers performed Kerala's traditional dance form Mohini Aattam followed by a performance in Barathanatiyam. Once the cultural fest was over, sumptuous dinner comprising of traditional Kerala food of the mountain regions was served.

This sure proved to be a Birthday party that Aishwarya Rai would cherish for a long time to come.

At 35, Bollywood’s blue-eyed-girl Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who celebrates her birthday this Saturday, continues to woo Indian filmmakers with her international appeal, making her one of the most bankable stars in the Indian film industry. Says popular film critic Taran Adarsh: “Aishwarya’s career graph has been very good though not excellent but she is the only actress who can attract national and international crowds. She is the face of so many international brands and a very good actress also.”London-based Indian filmmaker Jagmohan Mundhra, who directed the actress in the critically acclaimed English movie Provoked, also credits her as a superstar with an international appeal.”She is a superstar. Not only is she a recognised name worldwide; she is a totally bankable star. My personal experience with her from Provoked says that the film wouldn’t have worked without her.”The best thing about her is that despite her stature, she is completely a director’s actor. She would also give her inputs in the character and would never come back to see a shot once the director approves it. She is thoroughly professional,” Mundhra added.Aishwarya, now married to Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, was born in Mangalore to Krishnaraj Rai, a marine biologist, and Vrinda Rai, a writer.

After winning the Miss World crown in 1994, Aishwarya took to acting in 1997 with a Tamil film Iruvar opposite southern superstar Mohanlal and made her Bollywood debut in the same year opposite Bobby Deol in Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya. Both films bombed.In the following year, she won her first Filmfare Best Actress award South for the Tamil film Jeans but became an overnight star with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in 1999. She bagged the Filmfare Best Actress award for this too. In 2000, she gave a power packed performance in Subhash Ghai’s Taal but followed it up with a string of flops like Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai(2000), Dhai Akshar Prem Ke(2000), Albela (2001), Hum Kisise Kum Nahi(2001) and many more.In between, she was recognised for her supporting role in Yash Chopra’s 2000 hit Mohabbatein.Her career was resurrected in 2002 with Bhansali’s Devdas fetching her another Filmfare award in the Best Actress category.She was highly appreciated for her performances in Chokher Bali(2002), Raincoat (2004), Guru(2006), Dhoom 2 (2006), Provoked(2007), Jodhaa Akbar (2008) and Sarkar Raj (2008).
In her career spanning 11 years, Aishwarya has acted in over 40 movies in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and English.

Her English projects included Bride & Prejudice (2003), Mistress of Spices (2005), and The Last Legion (2007).She is also starring in another international project Pink Panther 2, a sequel to the original comedy.The beauty queen-turned-actress is also counted among the 100 most beautiful women in the world.Actress Priyanka Chopra feels that “Aishwarya has a perfect face”.”She is a gorgeous lady, a very elegant person and a great representative of India abroad and I think she has made some great cinema recently. I’d like to watch a lot more of her in films,” says Priyanka.After her wedding in April last year, Aishwarya has cut down on her projects and has become very choosy too. But critic Adarsh feels it is only due to her “added family responsibilities”.Currently, the actress is busy shooting with Abhishek in Kochi for Mani Ratnam’s forthcoming film tentatively titled Raavan”.

Samajwadi Party leader and their family friend Amar Singh [Images] and parents of Aishwarya Rai also accompanied them to Kedarnath shrine, Rudraprayag SP Neeru Garg said.

The Bachchan family, who reached here by three choppers at around 1030 am, spent more than an hour performing puja at the temple, situated at a height of 3581 meter in Garhwal Himalayas. They also had parikrama around the famous Hindu shrine of Lord Shiva, under the guidance of the temple priests, Garg said.

After having lunch at the guest house here, they left the place at around 0045 pm. Kedarnath shrine is situated on the bank of river Mandakini [Images], a tributary of Ganga and attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year. The Bachchan family, however, refused to talk to the mediapersons gathered at the shrine area.

The following is a scan of a magazine cover from 1997… take a look and let us know what you think…

He's reportedly said, "I wouldn't watch a Bollywood film even if I am at the lowest point of my life. These films have horrible stories and terrible acting. I don't know why your films have singing or dancing every other minute. Either you are telling a story or you are not."

We know that most of the news about Bollywood growing by leaps and bounds is created by the overenthusiastic Indian media. It's great that someone has seen through the sham and has straightforwardly talked about it.

He delivers another shocker when he says, "Aishwarya Rai (now Aishwarya Bachchan) is the biggest example of bad acting. She has proved it time and again how it can do wonders. In Bollywood, people can become superstars just by having a pretty face."

Now not everybody can be floored by her charms or think she's the most beautiful women in the world. Will Smith is, her family obviously is (they have dubbed her the perfect bahu) but not people like this motor mouth stand up comedian.

Wonder how and Ash and the rest plan to react to his blatant and unkind remarks! Or will they just choose to ignore it all?

It's got to be the biggest rock concert ever. On the initiative of three like-minded people --Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal and Ritesh Sidhwani --12 rock bands are getting together on 31 October for the Rock On For Humanity concert at the MMRDA Ground at Bandra-Kurla to raise funds for a pediatric medical camp in Bihar.

Farhan who spearheaded this charitable concern asks, "Why a rock concert? Why not the usual film-related naach-gana that is far easier to organize as a fund-raiser.

We at Rock On For Humanity felt the idea of raising money for medical assistance must connect with the young urban youth. Though this concert has nothing to do with my film Rock On somehow the idea of a rock concert does have a bearing on the way the young responded to the film."

At the core of this sprawling charity concert will be 12 rock bands from all over the country.

"And that would include Parikrama with whom Saif Ali Khan plays guitar.And yes Saif will be playing the guitar with Parikrama that evening.

I'll be performing with Shankar-Ehsaan Loy. In addition Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan and Abhishek-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be coming on stage to address the crowds.

We hope to raise a sizeable amount of money that evening because it's a one-off endeavour. We hope to raise enough money to a pediatric camp in Bihar."

First it was her father and now it’s the turn of her father-in-law. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is making the hospital rounds to nurse her family back to good health.

Ash who was shooting in Brazil for Shankar’s Robot , had taken a ten day break to be with her husband for Drona’s premiere and then to celebrate Amitabh Bachchan’s birthday. The family revealed that she was all set to return to Chennai on Monday night post the celebrations, to resume her shooting, when suddenly the Big B had to be hospitalized.

She has now cancelled her return to Chennai until Bachchan senior is well on his way to recovery. Her business manager has confirmed that she has no plans to resume shooting anytime soon.

Aishwarya’s father has been diagnosed with cancer and has been getting his treatment done at Mumbai’s Hinduja Hospital. The actress had returned home for two days in the midst of her Unforgettable Tour to be with him.

Now with the Big B admitted at the Lilavati hospital, Ash is by his side doing the needful.

It's not a hidden fact that the Bachchans dote on their favourite bahurani. Come on, aren't they always openly showing off their affection for Ash who they lovingly called Pari in public?

This time matriarch of the family Jaya Bachchan has decided to defend their darling bahu in public in a heart to heart conversation with People magazine.

She has spoken in length about her connection with reigning superstar Shah Rukh Khan and her disappointment over his alleged remarks about daughter-in-law Aishwarya during the infamous SRK-Salman spat.

She's even gone to the extent of saying that she would slap SRK if he says anything derogatory about daughter-in-law dearest!

And if he would have done it in front of her, she would have done it there and then!

That’s what wives are for, we suppose. Abhishek Bachchan’s super-hyped superhero flick Drona has proved to be a super dud. But despite the harsh critical and audience feedback, wife Aishwarya is all praise. The younger Mrs Bachchan arrived in a pale yellow outfit at a Longines store launch in Delhi. And all the actress could do was laud hubby and his film. While we appreciated her standing by Abhi through thick and thin, we also thought she may have gone on a wee bit too much.
“I think he’s a wonderful actor. I’ve always admired his approach to his work. You have to admire all the actors (in Drona), I did. Abhishek played Drona realistically. I viewed the film through a child’s eyes. It has to be perceived as a fantasy adventure,” and so on and so forth. Aishwarya even went on to heave praise on Priyanka Chopra and Kay Kay Menon, her husband’s co-stars. And it was then that we realised she was only being her politically correct self.
What followed were more accolades for the directors of her forthcoming films, Robot and Ravana. Ash continued to say the nicest things about Shankar and Mani Ratnam. Next, was the Unforgettable Tour she’s just returned from. Although, actors like Preity Zinta and Riteish Deshmukh reportedly had some trouble during the trip, Aishwarya seemed to have enjoyed every bit of it. When it came to turning her attention back to the event she was at, Ash was quick. “I believe in the brand, in its outlook. I believe in their motto, ‘Elegance is an attitude’. It stands true to my own approach,” she said.