Katrina Kaif is reported to have bagged another 2 films, Rs 6 Crore deal with a unspecified corporate house, similar to her deal with Studio 18, consolidating her position as one of Bollywood’s top paid actresses.

After having wowed audiences in 2007 with hits like Namastey London, Apne, Partner and Welcome, Katrina Kaif clinched a six crore, two film deal with Studio 18 in February 2008.

More recently, Shree Ashtavinayak agreed to pay Katrina a whopping Rs 1.5 crore for a short role in their under production thriller Blue. The role, that includes an item song, required 10 days of shooting.

Katrina’s paycheck in Blue reportedly inspired Kareena Kapoor to demand a whopping Rs 6 crore from Shree Ashtavinayak for her next film with them, reneging on the price negotiated between them earlier. The film directed by Rumi Jaffery features Kareena and John Abraham in lead roles.

Kareena and Shree Ashtavinayak are working under a three film deal, of which Jab We Met was the first.

Parag Desai, media consultant for Ashtavinyak denies that the deal between Kareena and Shree Ashtavinayak is being re-negotiated.

“We have signed Kareena after JWM for a three films deal, so revising the price is totally out of the question. It’s just baseless rumors doing the rounds,” he says.

Aishwarya Rai became the highest paid Bollywood actress recently, after she negotiated a Rs 4 Crore paycheck for her role in the forthcoming Sci-Fi thriller Robot opposite Rajnikant.

Aishwarya Rai has been offered the role of Yashodhara, wife of prince Siddhartha, in an English-Hindi bilingual film called Buddha being made by a Paris-based Indian filmmaker.

The star, whose portrayal of Jodha in Ashutosh Gowariker’s epic romance Jodhaa Akbar was well-received, has been offered the role by director of spiritual and crossover films Pan Nalin of Samsara fame.

Prince Siddhartha renounced the world, became a monk, attained nirvana and was known the world over as Gautama Buddha

Nalin, who was in Mumbai recently for the DVD launch of Samsara, told IANS that he met Aishwarya a few times and discussed the movie’s script with her.

India-born Nalin made waves internationally with his Buddhist crossover film Samsara, which had mixed cast comprising Ladhaki, Indian, American and Chinese actors. He followed it up with another crossover movie, The Valley of Flowers.

Nalin has penned the script in collaboration with Hollywood-based scriptwriter Tinker Lindsay.

“Aishwarya has not yet said anything. But I am hopeful that she will agree to it. It is scheduled to go on the floor in August this year,” Nalin said.

A self-taught filmmaker, Nalin’s debut film Samsara won 30 international awards.

Bollywood star Sushmita Sen, who graced the DVD launch ceremony, encapsulated the theme of Samsara saying it was about a person’s choice between desire and satisfaction, between inner urge and outside yearnings.

The movie tells the story of a monk, who leaves his monastery in Ladakh after meditating for years to experience the pleasures of matrimony and returns to his cloister after undergoing the trials and tribulations of a commoner’s life.

But unlike elsewhere in the world, Samsara came a cropper at the box-office in India when Sony released it in 2006.

Nalin claimed that the movie could not generate revenue in India because Sony managed to run it only for three weeks.

“When the box-office collections were picking up, the film had to be withdrawn from theatres as they were booked for other movies in the queue,” he said.

Samsara grossed over Rs1 billion worldwide and did good business in Europe. Shemaroo has launched the movie on DVD in India.

“As part of our company’s policy, we are now taking the initiative to support good cinema and independent filmmakers, making their productions available on home video,” said Shemaroo director Hiren Gada.

He said Shemaroo was aware that DVDs of films like Samsara might not sell like those of commercial movies.

“But there is a clientele for good, sensible movies. We will be more than pleased if the DVDs of Samsara do business worth Rs 2.5 million,” Gada said.

Though the movie has been made in Tibetan-Ladakhi language with sub-tiles in English, by virtue of its theme and cinematic brilliance, it was highly acclaimed worldwide when it was released internationally in 2001.

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.

It can’t be anything but destiny. Aishwarya Rai who will be playing Mumtaz Mahal in Ben Kingsley’s film on the Taj Mahal, brought in her 34th birthday in Agra with her real-life Shah Jahan.

“You make it sound so dramatic and romantic,” she said on the eve of her birthday.

“It’s nothing like that. I’m bringing it in with Abhishek, ma and pa. Abhishek was shooting an ad in Agra, so, I joined him with Ma (mom-in-law Jaya Bachchan). And now Pa (father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan) has also joined us. So, you could say it’s a perfect birthday by the Taj Mahal, though not quite at the Taj Mahal-have you seen the crowds over there?-we can’t risk going to the Taj Mahal, but a stone’s throw away,” said Ash.

On Nov 1, her birthday Aishwarya was on top of the world. “My birthday in Agra was just too special. Someone up there has answered all my prayers.” It’s been a hectic time for Aishwarya.

“I came back from the US from shooting Pink Panther in time for Karwa Chauth. God knows how the TV cameras got our shots, probably from neighbour’s premise. We’re just leading our lives normally. I don’t know why or how the press has this hunger to know about us,” said Aishwarya.

“This is my first birthday after marriage and therefore a very special occasion. But that apart, you know me. Spending time with the people I love is my greatest joy. I’m in a very happy place. And I don’t mean Agra.

“Just being with three people who mean so much to me makes my life complete. God has been kind. There’s great fulfillment in love and in being loved, by not just my husband but his parents who are now my parents. We’re one family and we all love one another,” she said.

After her marriage the glow on her face would make the sunglass industry thrive, there was laughter again. “Well if you say I glow, it’s the glow of happiness. I couldn’t have asked for more.”

She’ll be heading straight to Karjat after her birthday for the last two days’ shooting of Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodha-Akbar. Ash says she is excited about doing the Taj Mahal film with Ben Kingsley.

“On the first day of shooting The Last Legion with him he walked up to me he said, ‘I’ve this idea.’ And he told me about the Shah Jahan-Mumtaz Mahal film that he’d like to do. You know, how many Taj Mahal scripts have come my way.

“I told Ben there have been many occasions when this subject has come to me. But there was something exceptionally interesting about the way he approached the subject. And yes, the whole process of discussing the subject with him was participative. After The Last Legion I kind of put it in the back of my mind. But earlier this year he confirmed it was on,” said the pretty actress.

At the moment it’s Jodha-Akbar that occupies Aishwarya’s mind. “You know me. Once I get into a subject I’m totally into it. But yes, I’m looking forward to working with Sir Ben again.”

What does she want for her birthday? She thinks a while and says, “Just blessings and good wishes. Apart from that God has given me everything.”

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai will play Mumtaz Mahal in a film to be co-produced by British actor Sir Ben Kingsley.
Kingsley himself will play the role of the Mughal emperor Shahjahan in the flick.

The movie is on the building of the Taj Mahal. The romance will also include Shah Jahan’s abject isolation for years in a prison cell,” Kinglsey is quoted by Time of India.

Kingsley added that he had spoken to Ash about the project while filming The Last Legion with her.

“She very generously agreed to do the movie with me. My production house is working with a screenwriter on the project. I have very clear ideas about how I want to approach the subject.” Kingsley is quoted as saying.

The movie will be shot in Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. The shooting will begin next year.

It may be recalled that Sir Ben Kingsley was one of the hosts of The Seven New Wonders of the World event in July in Lisbon when Bipasha Basu announced Taj Mahal as one of the new wonders.

Kingsley is best known for his performance as Mahatma Gandhi in Sir Richard Attenborough’s award winning film ‘Gandhi’ (1982).
Aishwarya Rai is presently shooting Pink Panther 2 in Boston, USA.

After considering her role in the next Dharma Productions venture, Aishwarya Rai has decided to opt out of the project.

There has been a cast reshuffle in Karan Johar’s next production that will be directed by his assistant Tarun Mansukhani. The yet untitled movie was initially slated to star Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan in lead roles. Ash had apparently said yes to the film after hearing the screenplay.

But she changed her mind after the script and her role in it was narrated to her in detail.

Reports say Ash’s role in the film had a sexy angle.

Being now a married woman and being a Bachchan bahu, Ash is not game for such roles anymore. In fact, it is popularly believed that the Bachchans did not really approve of Ash’s hot act in Dhoom 2.

Unwilling to play the role in Karan’s production, Ash reportedly had a very frank talk with Johar and explained her point of view to him.
Karan says he respects Ash’s decision. So now Priyanka Chopra has been roped in to fill Ash’s place in the film. Priyanka has previously worked with Abhishek in Bluffmaster and she is also doing Drona with him.

As for Ash, she has no dearth of films with her hubby.

Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan made an official announcement of their upcoming ‘Unforgettable Tour’ in Toronto on Saturday.
The Unforgettable Tour, which celebrates the world of Bollywood, will kick off with a performance by Aishwarya and Abhishek in the summer of 2008 in Toronto.

The actors were greeted by a mob of fans when they made the announcement about the tour on Saturday.

The Unforgettable Tour is an 18-country series of stage shows by Bollywood’s hottest stars. Set to begin next summer, the tour is scheduled to stop in Vancouver, New York, Los Angeles, London, Cairo, Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong.

“If all goes well, and god willing, we will premiere the Unforgettable Tour in the city of Toronto because we feel that it is the best city to premiere the tour in,” Abhishek said during a press conference that also included Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, a Canadian website reported.

The Bachchans said The Unforgettable Tour also aims to raise awareness about global warming.

“Terrible, terrible things are happening to this earth of ours and we want to use this platform to try to acquaint people about what global warming is about and what they can do,” said Abhishek, adding, “we’re using this opportunity to spread the word.”

Abhishek, the son of Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan , said Toronto was home to a large number of fans of Indian cinema. It was also where the Abhishek and Aishwarya, who were married in April, premiered their film Guru in January.

The globe-trotting tour will feature concerts showcasing the lavish song-and-dance numbers from popular Bollywood films. The three Bachchans and other South Asian film stars are set to take the stage during the shows.

Lara Dutta , Bipasha Basu and Ritesh Deshmukh were among those on the line-up when the musical extravaganza was first announced in June during festivities around the International Indian Film Academy Awards at Sheffield in Britain.

Bollywood superstar and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai has become the first Indian celebrity to have her wax model displayed at Madame Tussauds Museum in historic Time Square in New York.

Within minutes of unveiling of her life-like model dressed in intricately patterned red Sari, her fans in New York began flocking the museum to admire the waxwork.

The unveiling of the model, borrowed by the New York Madame Tussauds from its parent museum in London, coincided with the India’s 60th Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday and will be on display for six weeks before being sent back.

But several of her fans, who had gathered at the museum, said the six weeks were too short a period for all fans from New York City and neighbouring states to see their favourite star in wax.

A group of dancers, dressed in ‘lahengas’ and matching blouses, gave a scintillating performance during the 15 minute unveiling ceremony. The dances portrayed several of her popular songs.

In the museum, Ash is in the company of several other celebrities including Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Besides Ash, the only Indian film personalities immortalised at Madame Tussauds in London are her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan , superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Tamil superstar Rajnikant . Other Indian attractions at the museum are Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

But Ash became the first Indian celebrity to be displayed in New York. Ash’s waxwork was unveiled in London in 2004, timed with the release of her first international film, Bride and Prejudice , directed by London-based Gurinder Chadha . She was present during the unveiling in London.

Director of Marketing of the New York Museum Rosemary Preta said the coming of Ash’s waxwork to New York fulfills the long-standing demand of her fans.

Set up by Frenchwoman Marie Tussauds in London in 1835, the world famous museum now has branches in Amsterdam, Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Shanghai, besides New York, with Washington DC to be added to the list in October 2007.

Refuting the reports about Ash’s pregnancy, Abhishek Bachchan has made clear it amply clear that his wife is too busy to start a family.

In fact, she is going to be very busy shooting for the next two years. Just after completing the shooting of Sarkar Raj, Ash will fly to Europe for her third Hollywood venture which is a sequel to Hollywood blockbuster ‘Pink Panther’.

It is also reported that Ash will be playing the female lead opposite Steve Martin. Actors Andy Garcia, John Cleese and Alfred Molina have also joined the crew of Columbia Pictures/MGM’s ‘The Pink Panther 2’.

Ash will star as a detective along with ‘Spiderman 2’ villain Molina and Garcia, who join forces with bumbling French police detective Jacques Clouseau, to be played by Martin, to catch the thief who has been stealing artifacts around the world.

Cleese will play Clouseau’s superior chief inspector Charles Dreyfus in the movie, according to reports.

Agent Cody Banks director Harald Zwart will be directing the film, which was penned by Scott Neustadter, Mike Weber, Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel and Steve Martin.

The film will be produced by Robert Simonds and Ira Shuman will be executive producer.

It is also learnt that Ash will start shooting for a film with Abhishek to be directed by Tarun Mansukhani for Karan Johar ’s Dharma Productions early next year.

With such a packed shooting schedule ahead Ash might just be glowing with work only.

Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai is set to star with actor Steve Martin in ‘The Pink Panther’ sequel.

Actors Andy Garcia, John Cleese and Alfred Molina have also joined the crew of Columbia Pictures/MGM’s ‘The Pink Panther 2′.

The Indian actress will star as a detective and expert along with ‘Spiderman 2′ villain Molina and Garcia, who join forces with bumbling French police detective Jacques Clouseau, to be played by Martin, to catch the thief who has been stealing artefacts around the world.

Cleese will play Clouseau’s superior chief inspector Charles Dreyfus in the pic, Variety magazine reports.

‘Agent Cody Banks’ director Harald Zwart will be directing the film, which was penned by Scott Neustadter, Mike Weber, Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel and Steve Martin.

The film will be produced by Robert Simonds and Ira Shuman will be exec producing.

The sequel, which was announced in March 2006, is scheduled for a release on February 13, 2009.

The impending and the most looked forward wedding in Bollywood for Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai is believed to be on the 19th of March. Rajasthan is setting the red carpet ready for it.

Umaid Bhavan Palace might be the venue for the much awaited wedding. Sources said that Abhishek Bachchan has sent two of his friends to finish the initial formalities of booking the Hotel.

Besides Umaid Bhavan, four more hotels at Jodhpur and Jaisalmer will be booked. Before that though, Umaid Bhavan will play host to the much talked about post-wedding parties of Liz Hurley and Nayar. So lets hear the wedding bells ringing.

The story of the tormented lady, Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who killed her NRI husband, was sentenced by the court of Britain. She was then released from Prison and was awarded the Bravery award in Britain. This real story will be seen on the silver screen on April the 6th with the release of “Provoked”. And the protagonist will be none other than Aishwarya Rai. Rai is being widely appreciated for her portrayal of the tortured wife.

“There are so many Kirans out there. This is not just restricted to our country, they are all around and this story had to be told. I am glad to be involved with this project,” said Aishwarya.

Filmmaker Jagmohan Mundhra is positive that thought the movie comes under the genre of realistic movies, Aishwarya’s presence would make the young audience to come for it. And this would ensure that the topic is fairly addressed among the world audience, which ultimately is the aim of the movie.

Alhuwalia herself was present when the film was first screened at the Cannes film festival last year. “Alhuwalia herself is happy with this film, especially the way Aishwarya has portrayed her,” said Sunanda Manohar, Producer. Provoked has been dubbed in four languages.

The British Film Director, Gurinder Chaddha who directed the film “Bend It Like Beckham” wants to name her twin babies after top Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

“If I have a boy and a girl I will call them Ash and Abhishek,” Gurinder Chaddha, referring to Aishwarya’s nickname, was quoted as saying in the Times of India.

Chaddha is pregnant with twins and is expected to give birth in July.

Rai, a former Miss World, and Bachchan are two of Bollywood’s biggest stars and have been dubbed “India’s Brangelina” after the famous Hollywood duo. They got engaged in January, setting to rest feverish speculation in the media about their hush-hush romance. Chaddha, who directed Rai in “Bride and Prejudice”, said she had kept her next big project, “Dallas”, on hold until the babies are born.

“No film experience can compare with this,” she said. “I wanted to pull out of the project. But the directors insisted that I do it.”

Dutt was recently heard telling a friend how thrilled he is about Abhishek settling down in life and how this new phase will bring him a lot of good luck. Well, with the kind of love they have for each other, we won’t be surprised if kid bro Abhishek asks Sanju to be his best man on the Big day!

Abhishek Bachchan, who has been more in news than ever this year, celebrated his birthday on Monday, February 5. The celebrations took place in style at the Bachchan residence Jalsa at Juhu, Mumbai.

Abhishek, who was busy shooting in Rajasthan for Drona, dropped in just to be with his family on the special day. As crowds waited in anticipation outside the bungalow with gifts and bouquets, AB and his baby made a grand entry. A humble Amitabh said to the crowds that his son only needed blessings, no gifts. As the charming actor turned 31 yesterday, papa dearest decided to give him a very special surprise. Amitabh Bachchan gifted his son a brilliant white Bentley. It is said that the Rs. 2 crore worth gift had a Delhi license plate.

After the celebrations, the Bachchan family left for Lilavati Hospital at Bandra to meet up with Teli Bachchan. Abhishek’s fiance Aishwarya Rai was also present there. Of course, she did not leave without taking a test drive in her fiance’s brand new car!

Amitabh Bachchan, the former host of the popular game show KBC has blamed the media for trying to create a stir between him and the current host Sharukh Khan.

It is now known that the two superstars of bollywood are avoiding eye contacts with each other.

Amitabh said that the media wants to sell commercially and hence made up a false hype and news. He went on to say that Sharukh is doing a good job in hosting the KBC. Amitabh acknowledged Sharukh’s comments that he is young and sexier. Though Amitabh’s comment was not without sarcasm, he added that age would catch up with every one and it would be fair to compare Sharukh with him only after he reaches 65. Amitabh also stated clearly that there are no problems with Sharukh Khan and would continue to act with him if a good script happens.

Though the critics of the show say that the popularity of the game show is on the decline, KBC and its team are refuting these charges and are showering praise on Sharukh for his wonderful work and down to earth attitude.

The most-talked about Bollywood couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai on Friday sought blessings of the deity at the famous Vindhyavasini Temple, making their first public appearance together after their engagement.

The Bachchan family led by Amitabh Bachchan, which arrived here to participate in the 51st birthday celebrations of Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh, offered prayers at the temple of Maa Bhagwati, seeking her blessings in the run-up to the Abhishek-Aishwarya wedding.

In what is being seen as a pre-nuptial ceremony, Abhishek and Aishwarya performed ‘parikarama’ (circumambulation) of the deity and also performed the ‘Bhagwati Pooja’.

The two were alone in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and they accepted the ‘kumkum’ given to them as ‘prasad’. Abhishek applied ‘kumkum’ on Aishwarya’s forehead and also applied some on his own forehead.

The two also offered a gold ‘chhatra’ (umbrella), nose ring and anklets during the ‘pooja’ in which besides the Bachchan family, Amar Singh and his wife Pankaja Kumari Singh were present ahead of a function in which 51 couples were united in wedlock on the occasion of Singh’s 51st birthday.

One of the 51 couples was also introduced to Amitabh and Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav by Amar Singh. Amitabh also performed ‘kanya daan’ at the function.

On Friday, Amitabh in an interview to a TV channel had described reports about the ‘mangal dosh’ (defect) as “speculation”.

AISHWARYA IS DOMESTICATED, SAYS BIG B

Legendary Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan said in an interview broadcast on Saturday he considers his future daughter-in-law, leading actress Aishwarya Rai, “domesticated” and a “simple girl”.

Asked what it was that impressed him about Rai, Bachchan told the NDTV news channel: “I think she’s a lot simpler than what is made out of her. She’s a very simple girl, very traditional. She’s also very domesticated.”

SALMAN CONGRATULATES ABHISHEK

Salman Khan again showed recently that he has a big heart.

Salman may be a former boyfriend of the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai, but with Abhishek Bachchan he has no enmity and like everybody in Bollywood, he also respects mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan a lot.

So when the news of Abhishek marrying Ash came to the fore, Salman sent a congratulatory SMS to Abhishek days after his engagement to Ash.

Though the contents of the message are not known, but definitely it was in good spirit.

Would Vivek Oberoi now dare to follow Salman’s way as before Ash fell for Abhishek, she was dating Vivek.

Audiences who will now go to watch Sanjay Gadhvi’s Dhoom 2 in nearby theatres will be utterly disappointed to learn that the daring kissing scene between Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai has been chopped off from the film.

The lip lock had raised eyebrows and sparked off controversies right from the time the film released on 24th November last year. One lawyer had filed a legal suit against Hrithik and Ash. However, no formal action was taken against it by Yash Raj Films. But after the Bachchans formerly announced the engagement of Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, the kissing scene has been chopped off. Sources say that the Bachchans asked Yash Raj Films to chop the scene that shows their to-be daughter-in-law doing a bold smooch.

Surprisingly, when director of Dhoom 2, Sanjay Gadhvi, was asked about this issue, he turned a cold shoulder to the media, saying that he would rather not comment on the issue. However, he maintained that his personal relationship with Yash Raj Films continues to be as it was, as he considers himself as a son of the Yash Raj family.

With the Ash-Abhishek wedding making headlines, it is only obvious that the Bachchan family wants to give a clean chit to their future bahu. It is speculated that Ash will stop working in films after she ties the knot. The duo has recently been seen together in movies like Umrao Jaan and Guru.

Celebrity couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have congratulated Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai on her engagement with Abhishek Bachchan.

Pitt and Jolie wished Aishwarya all the best and said ‘we hope to see her back in Hollywood real soon’, Sheeraz Hasan, founder of www.Hollywood.tv, said in a press release.

Aishwarya featured in the Hollywood film ‘Mistress of Spices’ directed by Paul Mayeda Berges.

Pitt, who came to India to shoot ‘A Mighty Heart’, about the life of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, said that Indians were very loving and spiritual and he and Jolie had loved every minute they spent in the country.

Jolie also showed keen interest in Indian films and said she would love to star in a Bollywood film.

Hollywood’s hottest pair had met Hasan at 64th Annual Golden Globes event Monday where Pitt’s ‘Babel’ won best motion picture-drama trophy.

Bollywood hearthrob Aishwarya Rai and actor Abhishek Bachchan on Sunday night got engaged to each other at a quiet ceremony in Mumbai, setting the stage for the marriage of the film industry`s most talked-about couple. The much-awaited news was confirmed by Amitabh Bachchan himself. The wedding will take place sometime in February.

The engagement between Abhishek, who turns 31 on February 5 next, and 33-year-old Aishwarya, was held at the residence of the Bachchans in suburban Juhu, the actress` secretary Hari Singh said.

The event, attended by family members and close friends of the Bachchan and Rai families, took place between 8.30pm and 9pm, hours after Aishwarya and Abhishek returned here from New York from the promotion of their just-released film “Guru” directed by Mani Ratnam.

Apart from the entire Bachchan clan, family friend Amar Singh was also present on the occasion.

Sources said Abhishek put a ring on the finger of Aishwarya to mark the engagement but no date has been set for the wedding between the two of Bollywood`s hottest stars.

The engagement came against the backdrop of rave reviews of “Guru”, giving a major boost to the careers of Aishwarya and Abhishek.

Astrologer Chandrashekar Swami had claimed earlier that the duo would get married between January 14 and February 27 in 2007.

Amid speculations that Ash was a manglik , the couple performed corrective puja at an ancient Shiva Temple in Varanasi, in which the entire Bachchan family was present.

By taking Aishwarya to Varanasi where Amitabh Bachchan’s father Harivanshrai Bachchan’s annual rituals are observed, the Bachchans had sent a message to the rest of the country that Aishwarya was now part of their family.

Both families were going by astrological predictions and suggestions.

There had been considerable speculation in the media about marriage between Abhishek and Aishwarya.

Amitabh had said in London on November 9 last year that he wanted Abhishek to settle with a “good girl” of his choice.

Abhishek and Aishwarya have starred together in Hindi films like Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, Kuch Na Kaho, Umrao Jaan, Dhoom 2.

However, they got their first hit as a pair in Mani Ratnam`s “Guru”, which has received tremendous response by the audience.