Aishwarya Rai on marriage home & Abhishek with Subhash K Jha…

Tell me, how has marriage changed you?
Marriage is such a unique and beautiful experience in my life. I’ve found a wonderful new family.My maiden family and this family together provides me with more than enough happiness and security. What more could I ask for?

When I went back on the sets after marriage there was no change at all. There has been a normal flow before and after marriage. Everyone wants to know how marriage has changed my life. Nothing has changed at all!

Life has been one smooth flow. And though I didn’t plan such a marriage I wouldn’t want it any other way. It has been wonderful on both the personal and professional front.

I remember when I got engaged and went back on the sets of Jodhaa-Akbar in Karjat nobody paid any attention. They thought it was just another rumour.When I look back on the hours put in for Jodhaa-Akbar I feel it was all worth it.

Your other costume drama Umrao Jaan was where love happened between you and Abhishek.
(laughs) Now that you remind me of it, of course. These two great cinematic experiences. And if you add Guru to it, Abhishek and I came together through these.

Where do you go now? Will you be working selectively ?
When have I not been working selectively? I’ve been working selectively since Devdas.

I’m glad I’ve been choosing discreetly according to how much time I’ve on hand. That doesn’t change now. I’ve committed myself to a couple of films now.

I really don’t know if I’m going to get more selective. Because I never do more than three films a year. Let’s see what the future holds. So many films I’ve let go because of the time factor.

Abhishek told me you were willing to let go of Pink Panther because his grandmother was critically ill.
(falls silent). Firstly she was not just his Daadi but mine too.So I wanted to spend as much time with her as he did. Of course actors are greedy people. They like to do all sorts of roles that come their way.

However I’ve never been one to detach myself from reality. I’d not want my family life to take a backseat to my work. I genuinely love my husband, his parents who are now my parents and my own parents.

I want to be with my new family, get to know them better because I got to know them so late in life. However I also know my professional responsibilities. When I came from my honeymoon I went straight to the location for Jodhaa-Akbar. I’m lucky to be married into a family that’s the epitome of professionalism.

Of course we want to spend time together. But we can’t let work suffer…When Pink Panther was offered Dadimaa became really unwell. During Jodhaa I’d rush back to hospital as frequently as I could. I was reluctant. More so because this was an international project.

What do you mean?
Well in India the entertainment industry doesn’t only go by the commerce. We do operate from the heart. There’s room for domestic crisis in our film industry.

Overseas one is under serious contracts. Eventhough Abhishek encouraged me to take up Pink Panther I made sure I left room in my contract for visits back home. Because I did want to experience Karwa Chauth and Diwali.

Then I checked with my international manager to make sure that I could come back if, God forbid, Dadimaa was in an emergency.

After Aishwarya Bachchan confirmed it to the whole world on national television that she was very much a part of director Shankar’s magnum opus ‘Robot’, it seems that things have gone kaput since.

Aishwarya, who since marriage has been saying on and off that she’s been extremely tied up and how much she wants to give her family life a priority, is finding it tough to strike a balance between her personal and professional life, guess this is what has not gone too well with her directors.

According to some reports, Ash is not doing Robot anymore and Shankar is already in talks with Deepika Padukone for the role. The main reason behind her decision was her inability to grant her dates at a stretch of two years that Shankar wanted to shoot his film in. Going by the grapevine, Aishwarya is already on her way out as she was more concerned about spending that kind of time with her family rather on the sets of any movie.

Last that was heard from Ash on Robot was the fact that she was extremely charged up about the whole movie. The other buzz was about the colossal sum of apparently Rs 4 crore that was offered to her for the movie. She had just shrugged her shoulders and said, “Come now, it’s that much that we have to make a big deal about it.”

She had expressed her excitement saying she was looking forward to working with Tamil superstar Rajinikant.

It seems that her wait’s not going to get over anytime soon.

Shilpa Shetty beats Aishwarya Rai and Kareena Kapoor in the price factor, after being offered a whopping 5.25 crores for an international film.

While Kareena Kapoor is being offered Rs 3.5 crores for her new movies after Jab We Met, Aishwarya Rai is said to have received Rs 4 crores for her proposed stint as Rajnikant’s leading lady in Shankar’s Robot. But here comes the big surprise.

According to reliable sources, Shilpa Shetty (’Big Brother’ winner and ‘the new face of Bollywood in the international market’) has been offered a whopping INR Rs 5.25 crores by an American NRI producer for an international film to go on floors in mid-2008.

When we contacted Shilpa, all she said was, “I get what I deserve”. Her publicist Dale Bhagwagar was a little more forthcoming, though he also asked us to be patient. “Let time unfold the news. I can’t divulge figures, but why would anyone be surprised at them,” he asked.

“Since her transformation from actress to diva in the international arena, Shilpa has been offered astronomical amounts by all kinds of filmmakers from all over the world, including Bollywood. But what matters most to her are hard-hitting roles which can satisfy the actress in her,” Bhagwagar added.

True. After Phir Milenge, Dus, Apne and Metro, Shilpa has become extremely choosy. She has agreed to only two films since then. Sunny Deol’s The Man will see her playing a role very close to her real life experience last year. Her character portrays the meteoric rise of a simple but dedicated girl to instant international stardom.

Shilpa’s next project would be Uru Patel’s international flick Hanuman, featuring her in the role of Goddess Sita, with Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves being tipped to play Lord Ram.

The actress is currently in Miami, shooting a ’special song’ with Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham in Karan Johar’s home production Dostana.

Apart from this, the actress will soon begin a big budget two-heroine action-comedy to be made by her production house S2 Global Productions with some top-of-the-line international technicians as part of her crew.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has declined to co-star with Hollywood wonder-boy again.

This is the third time she has said no to the besotted Will Smith who in a BBC interview had raved about Rai-Bachchan, “She has this powerful energy where she doesn’t have to say anything, do anything, she can just stand there. Anything she’s making I’ll be there.”

Two years ago Will offered Aishwarya the comedy Hitch (later remade into Hindi with Salman Khan as Partner). She couldn’t do the film due to time constraints.

In quick succession, Aishwarya has turned down two Will Smith projects.

“That’s true,” she laughs. “I had to say no to Will for Tonight He Comes (Smith’s super-hero flick re-named John Hancock).I feel awful about it. But I’ve my priorities very straight. Yes, family always comes first.”

Contrary to reports Aishwarya didn’t decline another Will Smith project The Seven Pounds to celebrate Karwa Chauth with her husband Abhishek in Mumbai.

“That’s what they wrote in the US press …that I preferred to return to Mumbai to STARVE myself for a religious occasion than to meet Will for the film. That’s completely incorrect.

The script reading for The Seven Pounds was just after Diwali when Dadimaa’s (Mrs Teji Bachchan)’s health dipped drastically. So I didn’t make that trip out to LA for the reading with Will. Is that wrong? Not to me. I’d any day put family over career.”

So are Ash and Will star crossed? “When it has to happen it will happen. We’d love to work together. There’s something very charismatic about that actor. He gives off very nice vibes. He’s very adventurous as an actor.

He does I Am Legend and Pursuit Of Happiness at the same time. He’s an actor, rapper, and a great family man. He likes to be adventurous. I like that.”

Gorgeous Aishwarya Bachchan introduced to the film world and the media a new budding star Sikander Kher, the son of legendry actor Anupam Kher and talented actress Kiron Kher.

Sikander had stepped into the domain which is already won by his parents through their flawless and brilliant acting. He ventured into Bollywood with Summer 2007 directed by Vivek Agnihotri under Adlabs & Atul Productions. On Tuesday March 25, 2008, Aishwarya launched him to the world of glamour.

It was a star-studded affair at Hotel The Club, Mumbai. Many people from film fraternity attended the function to shower their blessing and wished Sikandar good wishes. The evening kick started with a soothing music by music director Gourov Dasgupta with singers Sharib and Toshi.

Recently, the movie Summer 2007 was unveiled to the media. It is the story of five medical students who go out to fulfill their dream and at last get to interact with reality. It stars, Sikander Kher along with former Miss India Gul Panag, debut Yuvika Choudhary, Arjan Bajwa, Alekh Sangal, Vikram Gokhale, Sachin Khedekar, Prashant Narayanan, Shweta Menon, Ashutosh Rana and Neetu Chandra in a special appearance. Hope, Sikander shines like a bright star in the tinselville. The film is slated to release in May.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has proved to all that she is the most elegant princess in tinsel town with her gorgeous look in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodhaa Akbar.

After playing Jodhaa, now Ash is all set to play another classic role of Mumtaz Mahal opposite Ben Kingsley in the historical epic on the Taj Mahal.

But at the moment, all eyes are on the on and off screen thunderous chemistry of Ash-Abhishek in Maniratnam’s next film, which is reported to be a very intense love story.

As we wait to see the couple take off from where they left in Guru, the year 2008 really promises to be a good year with many romantic flavors to come! The other love story being talked of is the Raj Kumar Santoshi, Ranbir-Katrina starrer.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is pretty miffed these days as her allegedly topless picture had been flashed across various TV channels, few days back.

Rumour has it that these pictures were taken at a time when Ash was beginning her career in ad and and modelling industry during the mid 90’s where she reportedly posed for a magazine along with four, five models.

The names of the models in the magazine go as Milind Soman , Madhu Sapre , Ruchi Malhotra, Aishwarya Rai, Anu Verma, Coleen Khan. Atul Karleskar had reportedly shot the picture and Micky Contractor had done the make-up.

Abhishek Bachchan is apparantly upset over these ‘topless’ pictures and is keen to take drastic step and having a talk with his lawyers regarding this defamatory issue.

Ash has also taken the matter very seriously and released a statement saying that the pictures are fabricated and that she was never involved.

“She would never do something like that. You know the actress you are talking about.

No matter at which time in her profession they say these pictures were taken we can guarantee you that they are just the work some of some publicity hungry individual,” says Ash’s manager, “She has made it clear that she will take action against anyone who publishes them on the assumption that they are hers. And so will her close ones.”

He also adds that this new rumour hasn’t gone done well with the actress or the rest of her family.

The picture reportedly shows Ash in a pair of tiny denim shorts with her back to the camera with other models as well some other ones that are much more bold.

“Samsara”, meaning world, is a film based on beggars who stay in Laddakh and follow Buddism. The film has been honored with thirty International awards.

Pan Nalin, the director of the film, though has mixed reactions; he is happy because the whole world has acknowledged the film, but sad because the universally praised film has very little recognition in India.

After two years of its release, Pan is now trying to reach the Indian audience with the DVD version of “Samsara”.

The gorgeous Sushmita Sen was present during the DVD release of “Samsara”. Here is the lady talking about the film, and also on her forthcoming projects.

Sushmita Sen feels honored to be a part of the DVD launch function of the film ‘Samsara’. An ardent fan of the film, the actress says, “I watched it as soon as it was released two years back. I liked the film very much, and my affection for the film is more because the maker of the film is an Indian.”

Talking about the standard of Indian films when compared to International ones, Sush opines, “I am really proud that the film (Samsara) was made in India.

We must know that every year Indian filmmakers create many films that can easily be compared with International movies from the point of view of either quality or budget.

Despite all that, our films are recognized only as musical films in the World cine market.

It’s a blessing for us to have “Samsara” made in India and we should be proud of Pan as the Indian director is priceless.”

After Ram Gopal Verma Ki Aag, the talented lanky actress is not seen much in films now. But her fans and viewers are surely awaiting the release of her forthcoming films, ‘Jhansi Ki Rani Lakshmibai’ and ‘Dulha Mil Gaya’.

When asked about her film, ‘Jhansi Ki Rani Lakshmibai’, a tight-lipped Sush has this diplomatic answer to give, “We are here for the film “Samsara” and I would like to talk about films by Pan only. But believe me, when we will meet for my film, I will talk about films by me only”.

Moving on to her next awaited release, ‘Dulha Mil Gaya’, Sush cracks a joke, as she says, “Even I am waiting for my groom for long.

Well, I am also waiting for “Dulha Mil Gaya” to be complete. It’s one of those films which I enjoyed working in. I hope Shahrukh can arrange his date for the film soon so that we can complete the shooting.”

Talking about Mudassar Aziz, the debutante director of “Dulha Mil Gaya”, Sushmita says, “As “Samsara” is Pan’s first film, “Dulha Mil Gaya” is the first film by Mudassar Azziz.

It’s very interesting for me that I worked all the way in my career with first-time directors only. I have never seen such a confident director than Mudassar. He knows well about not only what he has to do, but also what he requires for the script.”

Before taking leave from Sush, we were forced to ponder over the fact that Pan has approached Aishwariya Rai Bachchan, for the character of Yashodhara for his forthcoming film, “Life of Buddha”, but not Sushmita who is an ardent fan of the film maker.

What made him choose Ash over Sush?

Well, we went to Pan to get the answer to this, but Sushmita who was standing near pan replied saying, “As Pan didn’t offer me the role of Yashodhara, I also didn’t think about Pan while making “Jhansi Ki Rani”.

Well, that was a very smart answer coming from a very smart Sushmita Sen!

The much-vaunted and excruciatingly-postponed ‘Unforgettable’ concert tours featuring the Bachchans, Amitabh, Aishwarya and Abhishek with Jaya probably being coaxed in for a friendly appearance, is finally on this July, thereby putting an end to all speculation regarding the financial and creative feasibility of this never-before celebration of familial bonhomie

Hrithik Roshan and Akshay Kumar were supposed to join the ‘Unforgettable’ tour.

They opted out citing lack of time as the reason for their unavailibity for the joyous jamboree that would take the Bachchans through several European and American countries for a good two months.

Now the final list of entertainers joining the Bachchans are Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta and Riteish Deshmukh.

Speaking excitedly about her first family tour Aishwarya says, “Yes, it’s on in July and August. It’s always wonderful to be on stage with Abhishek and Pa (the Big B).

I remember how wonderful it when we did Kajra re at the IIFA two years ago. That one act featuring the three of us was a rock concert by itself. It was fantastic!

Now going on stage as Amitji’s daughter-in-law and Abhishek’s wife, would make it doubly fantastic.”

Though Jaya isn’t much of a dancer, the while Bachchan clan loves to groove.

Exults Ash basking in the after-glow of playing Jodha, ” You know, we really do have a good time on stage. I’ve watched Pa’s earlier concerts, and I’ve seen how he rivets the audience.

Even now when he chooses to go on stage once in a while, he truly has a blast. Abhishek has a party on stage. All three of us love live concerts. And we genuinely love music and dance. That’s one thing we have in common.

So we’re going to have a grand party on stage. And I hope the audience enjoys it as well.”

And would Kajra re still be part of the Bachchan Bahu’s on-stage repertoire?

“Is it possible for the three of us to go on stage and not do that song? Sharing screen and stage space with my husband and father-in-law has always been very very special.

I mean it just can’t get any more special than that for me. It doesn’t matter how many shows we do. Just the three of us interacting with a live audience is a very special occasion.

We’ll be up there for the audience, and the audience hopefully will be cheering for us,” says the Bachchan bahu before signing off to look after her domestic duties at Jalsa.

From a sucessful model to heatthrob of millions onscreen, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has come a long way. And now she is willing to share her journey of life with her fans all over the globe.

We hear that Ash is all set to write her biography with the help of her morther, Vrinda Rai, who is a writer too.

While Aishwarya’s business manager, Hari Singh, remained non-commital about the veracity of facts but he didn’t reject the news either.

“Time and again, she has been approached by many authors and publishing houses. But Ash never considered the same, considering her shooting commitments. Aishwarya is definitely not interested in commissioning her biography to anyone. She wants to pen it herself,” says Hari Singh.

“She writes personal notes on the daily basis. Considering her career graph, the idea of a biography makes absolute sense,” he adds.

So is she planning to take a long sabbatical from showbiz, just like her mother in law?

Well it seems so, as she has has decided not to be a part of Ketan Mehta’s magnum opus Jhansi Ki Rani.

Tells Ash, “Ketan spoke to me nearly two years back when he was very keen on making this film with me. But thereafter, he has not been in touch with me and I don’t think that as of now I am working in Jhansi Ki Rani.

At the moment, Ash is only looking forward to her Hollywood film Pink Panther and Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar Raj.

Aishwarya Rai says she as well as the Bachchan household wants to do much more than moviemaking, and the opening of a rural school for girls in Uttar Pradesh named after her is the first step in that direction.

‘I’m so glad I have married into a family that feels the same. They’re very sensitive about life itself and I’m very glad that we as a family feel the need to do a lot more beyond our craft,’ Aishwarya, who is the daughter-in-law of Amitabh Bachchan, told in a telephonic interview.

‘This is our initial step in this direction and with everybody’s support and blessings, we should be able to do a lot more in life ahead.’

Aishwarya does not mind the constant public glare when something as innocuous as visiting a temple with her in-laws draws the paparazzi by the hordes.

‘I think, as Pa (superstar Amitabh) has very rightly put it in several interviews before me, the fact is that today there is just a lot more media attention. We have always gone to temples or places of worship individually, even before I married into this family.

‘It’s just a way of life, but I guess with the widespread reach of the media today and with them being everywhere and with the number of television channels and websites and newspapers and magazines, it’s going to happen,’ she said.

Recently, an Indian television channel, India TV, claimed that Aishwarya and top Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie could be related as research has shown that all blue-eyed people have common ancestry from centuries ago.

‘This is crazy,’ the surprised actress broke into peals of laughter. Like most of the times, she was completely rooted to the ground, unfazed by ‘the strange biological parallel.’

Commenting on her ‘foray’ into Hollywood, Aishwarya said: ‘You know I’ve always said that it is not a foray – I’m not going anywhere.

‘I’m just very glad of the fact that I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to work in cinema in the larger sense of the term, irrespective of the language or the place in the world it has been made in.

‘So, be it Tamil movies; be it a Bengali film; Hindi movies; and a couple of English movies; time is a huge deciding factor in my schedule. The last English film I acted in was ‘The Pink Panther 2′, which will be released probably by the end of the year or early next year. Let’s see what the future holds for me (in Hollywood)!’

Aishwarya will be on board for a Tamil film directed by Shankar opposite Tamil superstar Rajnikant. Titled ‘Robot’, the film is a Rs.1 billion-project and it will be her second movie with Shankar after ‘Jeans’ in 1988.

Incidentally, the 57-year-old southern icon Rajnikant has a daughter named Aishwarya.

Speaking about her forthcoming release ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, which releases worldwide Feb 15, the actress said: ‘The decision was an instant ‘Yes!’ Given the character and the script and the subject, it is an actor’s dream to be part of such a project.’

Asked how it was working with Hrithik Roshan on two movies – ‘Dhoom 2′ and ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ – back-to-back, she said: ‘I was very lucky to get to work with Hrithik in two movies. They were so diverse in genre, energy and personality.

‘At one end is ‘Dhoom 2′, which was so contemporary – joyous, fast and bold and today and fun! It was just wild energy. At the other end, we immediately delved into the subject with ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, which is so detailed, so researched and yet so pure, so spontaneous and innocent.’

Aishwarya and Hrithik shared good screen chemistry in ‘Dhoom’. And in ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, the vibes were just as good.

‘Hrithik and I became friends on the sets of ‘Dhoom’ because we were all part of a team working in the movie. Hrithik and (my husband) Abhishek grew up together. They were childhood friends and I instantly became a part of the team.

‘The energy that we share, the comfort level that we share; I think that is what translates into chemistry on screen.’

Talking about her swashbuckling, sword-fighting scene, Aishwarya said she had not undergone any formal training: ‘The Hollywood film ‘The Last Legion’ was my first experience of sword-fighting and I took to it instantly. But even here, there was no time for any kind of formal training. We did it right there on the sets.’

The former Miss World will also star in a Hindi film by Sriram Raghavan, featuring John Abraham.

‘He is putting the final touches to the script. When he is ready with the script, we’ll decide on the schedule and when it will go on the floor.’

For the immediate future, of course, there is ‘Sarkar Raj’, which is complete.

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has turned down an offer from the Madame Tussauds museum in London to make his life size wax statue.

The Madame Tussauds has the wax statues of Bollywood mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan , the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

“The persons from the museum had approached Salman Khan about two to three weeks ago to make the statue of his. However, he has taken the decision today not to accept the offer,” Salman’s secretary Vikas Kapoor said in Mumbai on Monday.

Kapoor said Salman had not given any specific reason for refusing the offer.

Salman is at present not in Mumbai and is in Austria where he is shooting for a movie. He is expected to return later this week.

Salman has had two stints in jail on the charge of killing black bucks in Rajasthan during a film shoot. He is now out on interim bail while his appeal is being heard in the Rajasthan High Court.

He had also allegedly mowed down a pavement dweller while driving his Sports Utility Vehicle in 2002 in suburban Bandra.