AISHWARYA RAI GRABS THE 9TH PLACE

It’s been more than a decade that she won the crown. But this former Miss World is still accurately reigning the world!

The popular International Harpers and Queen magazine had listed 100 beautiful women and among them was our Aishwarya Rai Bachchan! Not only that! She has taken the ninth rank in the list, reports say.

In the meantime, Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie is said to be topping the list, followed by Supermodel Christy Turlington. Among other beauties, Queen Rania of Jordan has also found her place in the chart.

Great going Ash!!

I WAS INADEQUATE FOR POLITICS, SAYS AMITABH BACHCHAN

It’s a job he’ll never recommend to anyone. Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, who was a Lok Sabha MP in 1984-87, says he quit politics because he felt he was "inadequate for the job".

"Many ask me why I joined politics and why I left it. I joined it because I was asked to and left because I was inadequate for the job," Bachchan posted on his blog.

The veteran actor came into politics at the behest of friend and then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He contested the Lok Sabha election from his hometown Allahabad in 1984. He won by a huge majority.

He says it is a tough job to be a politician and admires those who have managed to stay put in it.

"Politics is a complicated world - a world where if you are unable to play the game, you would remain a novice and a stranger eternally. I admire those who have remained in it for long years. (I) admire the guile with which they steer their boats every day, every minute. The ease with which they make associations and break them, reject foes and months later embrace them as dearest friends. It is a tough job.

"A job that I would never be able to do. I would never recommend it to anyone. But I do know that those who pursue this line do so with utmost dedication and passion. Their dedication and passion is admirable," he said.

Bachchan is currently in Singapore with his politician friend Amar Singh. The Samajwadi Party leader underwent a kidney transplant there.

AMERICA DOESN’T KNOW ASH AND ABHI

Stars are worshipped like demi-gods in India and people would do anything to get only a glimpse of their favourite stars. Thus stars cannot live normal lives in India but that is not the case when they go to foreign shores where few people know them.

Earlier this week, Ash and Abhi were spotted grocery shopping by a source in Chicago, USA. She told us, “Abhishek and Aishwarya were in the sweets lane at the Walgreens store located near Water Towers in Chicago. Walgreens is a supermarket chain like Walmart. In India, its equivalent would be Food Bazaar, Big Bazaar and Le Marche. They were there buying cookies and cereals. It was raining and Ash was wearing jeans and a black hoodie while Abhishek was wearing a dark jacket with jeans.”

She adds, “Abhishek looked pretty ordinary and pretty Ash, with her fair skin and blue eyes, blended in with the locals. No one made a fuss over them. There were no starry airs. They were shopping like any other couple. There was only one Indian in the store. Abhishek was checking from the side of his eye if that person recognized him and would approach them for autographs but nothing like that happened. After buying what they wanted, they walked out into the street hand-in-hand without any security. There was no car waiting for them.”

Though Aishwarya is an internationally known face and the Bachchan parivaar was photographed at the US premiere of Pink Panther 2, the couple wasn’t hounded by the paparazzi. The only Indian celebrities that get paparazzi attention in the States are Frieda Pinto and Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire fame.

So the formula to live a normal life where strangers and fans don’t go ga-ga over you is crazy. Don’t wear make-up, maintain a low profile and do your grocery shopping in a foreign country.

KAT DIDN’T REPLACE ME: ASH

Some have written her off, some say her crown is under menace. But Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is unaware to such comments.

With her trademark smile in place, the graceful Bachchan bahu set about business, charming one and all during her recent trip to the city. The actress glowed in spite of reports of suffering from swine flu. “As the head of the house, Pa voiced his concerns on his blog about my health. He said I had flu like indication. Soon, word spread that I had swine flu!” said Ash when questioned about her health. But like the whole thing else, these rumours too were put to rest. “Pa had to then make clear that it was just a normal flu,” said Ash while accepting that the Big B’s blog is certainly quite a ‘hit’. “For me it was Pa blogging because he was worried and away from home at that time. But for others, it was like a confirmation of sorts that Amitabh Bachchan says Ash has the swine flu!”

Apart from shooting for Raavan, Endhiran, Guzaarish and Action Replay, Ash also has other professional commitments to honour which takes up a lot of her time. But hey, she’s not complaining. After all, she is the face of some of the most popular brands across the world. “I’ve always been very selective about the brands I endorse. There’s no rat race. Every endorsement has a story behind it. The bottomline is, I don’t like endorsing brands which are anywhere and everywhere,” explains Ash.

And what about rumours of a jewellery brand dropping her for Katrina Kaif? “I would like to say this loud and clear; I chose not to renew my contract with the jewellery brand,” affirms the actor setting the record straight. “I had a contract with another brand under which that particular jewellers came. Once they parted ways, I decided not to endorse them anymore,” she goes on to explain.

Taking the opportunity to put to rest the talk about her being dropped by other brands due to her age, Ash said, “No one every dropped me. I chose not to renew certain contracts. Like the one with the cola brand. Post marriage I decided not to endorse them anymore as Pa and Abhishek were endorsing the rival cola brand. I didn’t want any confusion in the consumer’s mind,” she quipped .

With film and endorsement offers pouring in, Ash is indeed a busy woman just like she was a few years ago. Unlike others, marriage doesn’t seem to have slowed her down. “Earlier, it was tough for a heroine to get work after marriage. Their so-called brand value would depreciate. That didn’t happen with me, as I've always aspired to push the envelope,” she explains.

But she does not take the credit for this alone. “I have to thank the professionals I’ve worked with. They were not regressive and changed with times,” she says. And unlike other contemporaries, Ash always seems pretty secure and confident of her career. “And why not?” she asks going on to add that, “Throughout my career I’ve never said things like, ‘I’m not ready for marriage now’, or ‘marriage will happen only after five or six years’. When I was ready for marriage, everybody knew. I’ve never given escapist quotes.”

But now that she is married into the first family of Bollywood, doesn’t she want to take it slow? “I have a secret pride, you know. I’ve always wanted to work after marriage and I couldn’t see why that should change after I tied the knot,” says Ash, while adding immediately, “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not a hardcore feminist. I’m a humanist.”

The down-to-earth superstar rewinds, “I’ve had a long and wonderful journey. My photographer friends and others have pointed out that I have improved over the years.” But that did not come easy. “Earlier when a girl signed a film opposite a certain hero, it made big news. But I was not satisfied with just that, I wanted more. There were times when I signed a film and it turned out to be something else. I then brought it something different and new to the industry that protected the rights of the heroine like the MOUs and other contractual changes.”

Ask her if any of it was tough and she says, “Well I’ve constantly learnt and improved as an actor. My efforts have definitely made things a lot easier for my ilk.”

HRITHIK & I SHARE ENTHUSIASM: AISHWARYA

Big news is that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is making a third film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali called Guzaarish after Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas, and it stars Hrithik Roshan.

The actress, intent in the dense forests of Kerala with husband Abhishek for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, took a call and spoke to BT about it. “We’ve evolved mutually, grown as individuals and artistes, we’re similar totally driven and adoring, the passion is mutually addictive, we don’t meet for months, but every time we meet we pick up the threads naturally,” said Ash about her filmmaker friend.

But, Guzaarish is going to be different from their first two films. “This time we aren’t going into the glamour zone,” said Ash. “Sanjay was so energized when he found the right script for us to work together in. ‘This is it,’ he said. For the first time I didn’t even read the script before I said yes. It’s a very real, very strong drama. I respect filmmakers like Sanjay, Mani Ratnam and Shankar who make the films they do because they have to. The family that I’ve married into, this belief and faith in the work we do is principal. Ma or Pa only goes into projects with complete confidence. I follow that faith.”

She laughed when asked whether filmmakers who wanted Aishwarya Rai Bachchan would settle for no other actress, “I don’t know, but when I am not able to do a project they discuss the option with me. I treasure that relationship with my directors where they don’t see me as just their heroine but a colleague even if I’m unable to do their films.”

That apart, Ash is thrilled to be working with Hrithik again. They were offered Mission Kashmir soon after Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, but she couldn’t meet the schedule, so her role was done by Preity Zinta.

Then they almost did Krissh, but that, too, didn’t materialise. Hrithik has admitted that the former Miss World is his favourite co-star.

“We did an ad-film together before working in Dhoom 2 and Jodhaa-Akbar. Hrithik, Sanjay and I are compatible people very focused and zealous about our work. The two films Hrithik and I did were poles apart and now Sanjay’s film takes us into a totally different subject. Like I said, there’s no glam zone in this one. I go completely by my confidence. I chose to do Dhoom 2 after ten years in the industry and not at the start of my career. I was just cracking a genre. And then I moved on. On the other hand, I was content being totally deglam in Guru. If I get loved by my audience for it, then nothing like it,” she said.

MADHURI, ASH TO JUDGE DANCE REALITY SHOW

If this occurs, it will be a takeover of sorts. A TV channel is trying to rope in Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Bachchan, two of Bollywood’s most nimble-footed dancers not to state gorgeous actresses, to judge a reality dance show.

Talks are on, but their dates have to match, and if it happens... this will be the first time the two divas will be seen again after Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas. Consider their Dola Re performance!

Madhuri, who has been coming on and off to Mumbai for work, leaving her two sons in the care of husband Dr Sriram Nene in the US, may take up this offer. She still remains the dancing diva of Bollywood with no other actress being able to steal the crown from her.

ABHI-ASH CELEBRATE 40 YRS OF PA IN CINEMA

November 7, assures to be a big day for Amitabh Bachchan. For all of Bollywood has promised to join Jaya, Abhishek and Aishwarya in paying homage to the Big B who completes 40 years in Hindi cinema.

And, the compliment is going to be in the form of a concert in Mumbai, bigger than anything Bollywood has ever done before.

Events organiser Bunty Walia, who is putting it in concert, says it is too early to disclose details of the concert, but the concert is likely to be preceded by a Bachchan film festival organised by the superstar’s buddy Anil Ambani.

Almost all of Bollywood will join the Bachchan family on stage in performing songs from Big B’s films in this fine-looking tribute to the veteran actor.

Bachchan himself will only come on stage at the end, but he is not predictable to dance, instead he will probably recite poetry made famous by his late father Harivanshrai Bachchan. The concert is not intended as a surprise to the actor who turns 67 on October 11, knowing his attention to detail; he’s been taken into confidence about every decision regarding the preparations.

RAKHI CELEBRATIONS AT THE BACHCHANS

Amitabh Bachchan speaks about the festival of Rakhi on his blog, how daughter Shweta and grandchild Navya Naveli will celebrate the fortunate day with their brothers.

“Raksha Bandhan is the festival that respects the bond between brother and sister. Sisters shall perform a puja and arti with a diya, shall feed the brother a little sweet and shall tie a ‘rakhi’ on their right wrist a symbol seeking defense from their brother. She will politely touch his feet and the brother shall give her gift something to wear, a piece of jewellry or at times an envelope containing ‘shagun’; money which is measured auspicious.” Explains Big B

He goes on to speak about how Raksha Bandhan is portrayed onscreen, “The brother sister relationship has been very pronounced in all our films too and looked upon with great respect. The relationship does not essentially have to be of blood. The ‘rakhi brother’ or the ‘rakhi sister’ is a common reference in society of these relationships.”

Bachchan remembers the time when Shweta flew half way across the world to tie rakhi to Abhishek, “Last year she flew down to New York to perform the ritual as we were on tour. And then later in the evening at the concert he pulled her up in the audience when he was on stage. Navya-Naveli shall tie one on Agastya. They shall dress up in traditional outfit and put on cute little solemn faces as the importance of the moment shall be explained to them from their Mother.”

Seems like its going to be a full-blown celebration at the Big B household today, SBO wishes them a colourful Raksha Bandhan.

AISHWARYA HAPPY WITH TWO MEGA SOUTHERN PROJECTS

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai is thrilled over bagging the main leads in two mega south Indian projects - Mani Ratnam's "Ravan" and Shankar's "Endhiran".

"Shankar had advanced me earlier to work with him, but it never materialised. Finally, all landed in place and here we are working together after 10 years," said Aishwarya on the sets of "Ravan".

Tamil superstar Rajinikant, who is playing the male lead in "Endhiran", was also very keen to work with Aishwarya and had tried to sign her for his earlier ventures - "Padaiyappa" and "Chandramukhi", but the actress could not spare the dates.

Speaking about Ratnam's "Ravan", in which she once again teams up with her husband Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya said: "I don't want to disclose much about it. Working with Mani is always a delight. He is a man of rightness. I am lucky to act in his movies again and again."

Aishwarya was earlier seen in Ratnam's "Iruvar" and "Guru", in which Abhishek was in the main lead.

While shooting for "Ravan" in the jungles of Kerala, the entire cast and crew had a scary incident when an elephant ran amok and killed 51-year-old mahout Andavan.

The actors including Abhishek, Aishwarya, Vikram, Prabhu and Munna had to take shelter in a guest house.

According to sources, the film personalities spent the night in the forest guest house and survived on bread and eggs. After 12 hours of tension and waiting, the crew returned to their hotel.

Now the cast and crew of "Ravan" have moved to Ooty where the remaining portions of the film will be shot.

ASH RUNNING LATE FOR BHANSALI’S FLICK

Even if Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Guzaarish goes on the floors today, Aishwarya will report on the sets only from tomorrow.

The mishap on the sets of Mani Ratnams Raavana near Cochin is the cause for Aishwaryas delayed schedule.

A source said, The mahout was killed by his elephant and it led to total chaos. The mishap occurred just after the shoot was wrapped up and it even banned Ash and Abhishek from reaching the hotel. As a result, there is a shift of location and the left over shots with Aishwarya will be canned in Ooty. Her earlier schedule had allowed her a day free between the shoots of Raavana and Guzaarish, but not any more.

Confirming the news, a source close to the actress said, Aishwarya was to finish her shoot of Raavana today but due to the unlucky elephant incident last evening, they had to request Sanjay Leela Bhansali for another day to complete her work. The unit of Raavana has shifted to Ooty for the rest of the schedule, which was at first meant to be shot in Kerala. Once she gets back, she will go directly to Sanjay Leela Bhansalis sets.

Aishwarya is very upset about the accident. The source added, She is worried about the mahouts family and prays that they get through this moment of pain and loss.

ALL’S FINE BY GOD’S GRACE: AISHWARYA

It’s general facts that Bollywood’s most romantic couple, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai, pine to spend worth time together.

But the way they were cut off together on Wednesday in the jungles of Athirapilly in Kerala was anything but romantic.

The day started usually and ended up as one of the most disastrous in the couple’s life. Says a source, “Abhi and Ash left with Mani Ratnam in the morning to check out an elephant which was believed to participate in the shooting. Little did they know what was in store.” During the monsoon season, elephants are given a month off by their owners to relax and go for an Ayurveda healing, but for the greedy owners, film shooting means Rs 5,000 per animal.

The elephant went out of control, killing the mahout. It went amok, forcing Abhishek, his wife and the director to hide until people who could rescue the trio could reach. Says the source, “For ten hours, Abhishek, Aishwarya and Mani went without food or water. They just hide from the elephant. Finally, they were rescued late at night. But until then, there was no news of their safety. Abhishek and Aishwarya’s parents were hectic with worry.”

When contacted, a stunned Aishwarya Rai simply said, “All is well, by God’s grace.”

ASH LEARNS NEW DANCING STEPS

Astad Deboo, that modern and current Indian classical dancer, has been lured into the deep jungles of Athirappilly, Kerala, by filmmaker Mani Ratnam to teach the lovely Aishwarya Rai Bachchan some new steps.

Ash, who is shooting for Mani’s Raavan with hubby Abhishek Bachchan, is requisite to do a climactic life and death dance series for which the Padma Shri synthesis dance choreographer was particularly called in.

The actress, of course, is as graceful as can be when it comes to dancing on screen (remember Nimbuda from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Kahin Aag Lage from Taal), and choreographers from Saroj Khan to Shiamak Davar have raved about her professionalism when it comes to taking instruction. Now it’s Astad’s turn. This is his first experiment with Bollywood, though he did agree to lend his supple ingenuity to M F Husain’s Meenaxi before.

According to a source, Astad’s chosen a tandav of passion, revenge and salvation for Ash, because Mani wanted a fusion of kathak, ballet and modern dance. The steps are complex and new and Ash has to dance barefeet on slippery and unsafe ground. Besides, she has to do the steps twice over and in quick run, first with Abhishek for the Hindi version and then with Vikram for the Tamil version. Unsurprisingly, all this isn’t easy for the actress at all. She hasn’t been complaining, however.

Probably because she’s getting her fun watching Abhishek, who is infamously one of the worse dancers in Bollywood, struggling to work on his steps.

It’s not true, says upset aishwariya

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has had it up to her collar with rumour-mongers wondering about her personal and professional life.

The actress, who is one of Bollywood’s busiest at present, having films with first-class makers like Mani Ratnam, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Vipul Shah, has been absolutely balancing her married life and career.

She’s, however, angry that a section of the media has credited quotes like “My career is more important to me than my family” to her. And is not pleased with people putting words in her mouth like “If I want to stay in the film industry then I need to stay fit.”

Ash is presently shooting with husband Abhishek in the jungles of Kerala for Ravana, but she conveyed her feelings through her representative who said, “Aishwarya Rai is not just a star. She is also a daughter, a wife, a daughter-in-law and a symbol of true Indian practice. She has always alleged and practiced values that govern our society.”

The spokesperson further added, “Previously Aishwarya choose to remain silent. Even when she was married off to a tree, she choose not to speak because she in fact felt better sense would triumph. Though, her silence should not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness.” The actress wants to know why should people speculate, when her spokespeople are available to clarify the truth.

Steal Preview: Aladin

The clip of Aladin which was on you tube at the same point in time as ago has been yanked off. We got a steal peek of it early this daybreak. It showcases dazzling odd effects that we haven't seen in Indian movies as yet.

Amitabh Bachchan plays the genie; Riteish plays the ostensible role, Jacqueline Fernandez plays Jasmine in addition to Sanjay Dutt plays the ringmaster. It has an up to date setting as Aladin in addition to Jasmine are college-going characters. Jasmine is the pretty girl while Aladin is a loser.

The music for the Sujoy Ghosh motion picture has been scored by Vishal-Shekhar, who has beforehand worked with him on the smashing disc of Jhankaar Beats.

About Sujoy's choice of Riteish Deshmukh to play the show the way, he said, "I had just delivered a turkey-Home Delivery in addition to was toying with the idea of doing Aladin, in addition to hesitantly approached Riteish."

"I had to curb Riteish's enthusiasm because the moment he knew that Aladin was going to be an actuality, he started jumping up as well as down at the very contemplation of it."

"Since Riteish had a miniscule role in Home Delivery as well as it flopped, Riteish told me I allocated him a hit," adds Sujoy.

With the release of this big screen Sujoy hopes to recover from the adversity that was his last pictures Home Delivery.

"No one have to accuse me if my movies are delayed" - Aishwarya Rai

Starting Singapore to Chalakudy... Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on no account had such a hectic timetable to keep up. On Monday, a new schedule of Mani Ratnam's Raavan ongoing in the remote hilly area of Kerala, just when Amar Singh, whom Aishwarya was attending to, had recovered.

Illnesses in the family and at her work place have put Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's choc-a-bloc schedule under further pressure.

Original it was her father as well as father-in-law who underwent health problems. Now it's the Bachchans' relatives companion Amar Singh whose kidney relocate in Singapore has supplementary challenged Aishwarya schedules.

Mani Ratnam's Raavan has been pressed behind because of the director's heart scare. As a result, a major large piece of Aishwarya dates went to waste, though it did give her possibility to go on a holiday for her marriage anniversary in April.

Then the wished-for thriller Crooked which takes her crosswise the world for shooting with her husband got tardy from mid-2009 to the end of the year as the director Abhinay Deo's wife fell ill. Aishwarya freely reshuffled the dates.

Says a close friend, "She can by no means be unfeelingly professional. If a development is in distress, she will provide somewhere to stay in addition to rearrange it, no matter what it takes. There're three postponed projects, none delayed as of Aishwarya. But nonetheless requiring her immediate concentration. She has previously made space for the next schedules of Raavan in addition to Shankar's Tamil Robot with Rajnikanth which has also over-shot significantly in addition to requires her additional dates."

Aishwarya's preparation woes don't end there. Raavan is a bi-lingual in Tamil as well as Hindi which means it takes double her time.

Says the friend, "Abhishek is in only one description of Raavan. Aishwarya is in cooperation Tamil as well as Hindi. And she's also speaking her own Tamil lines."

Hence, at what time the material of the entire Bachchan family going for Amar Singh's surgical modus operandi came up, it was gently optional that Aishwarya minimize or cancel her sharing.

Says the source, "But for Aishwarya a family commitment is paramount. Work can wait. This is proficiently her most packed in addition to easier said than done period ever. But she is determined to come to an end all her projects on time."

Abhi-Ash planning for a baby

A lot of populace in the industry has been wondering why Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been operational so hard recently even as she balances her time between her two sets of parents at Jalsa (the Bachchans) and La Me (the Rais).

Fact is with the intention of Aishwarya is in a hasten to draw to a close up all her in anticipation of coursework so that she can remain a ingredient of the year 2010 free for relations affairs, and that includes parenthood.

A basis close to the couple said, “The two of them are fed up of relatives, strangers and relative strangers asking them when the stork is visiting. Secretly, they feel pressurized. It’s as if their parenthood is a public issue. Even when they are at airports in the making to board flights, over-exuberant ladies rush to them with an inquisitive look on their eager faces. Even before these fans open their mouth, Abhishek knows correctly what the question is, and he gets visibly exasperated. Aishwarya handles such over-inquisitive consideration far more politely.”