Aishwarya Rai

The gorgeous Aishwarya Rai has confirmed teaming up with Bollywood mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan and fiancé Abhishek Bachchan for the sequel of Sarkar.

It has been confirmed that Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai are teaming up for the first time for a whole film, Ram Gopal Varma’s sequel to “Sarkar”.

“News travels fast! Yes, it’s true Aishwarya has agreed to be a part of ‘Sarkar’ 2. We only need to work out her dates. She’ll of course play the lead opposite Abhishek,” Ram Gopal Verma said.

Considering how much in the news the pair is, Varma has got quite a winning combination on his hands.

Laughs the filmmaker: “I don’t think that’s the primary motivation for my casting Aishwarya. You see, I’ve been meaning to work with her for some time. Who doesn’t want to work with Aishwarya Rai? But the vehicle has to be worthy of her presence.

“I did approach her on a few occasions earlier. Things didn’t work out. I’m glad she’s on finally.”

‘Sarkar 2’ which will carry forward the story of the ‘Godfather’ – like political clan will now have Abhishek playing the messianic saviour of the downtrodden.

The Bachchan senior has confirmed that he would have comparatively less to do in the sequel to “Sarkar”. But knowing Varma’s passionate proclivity for the Big B’s histrionics there’s bound to be more of Amitabh than it would outwardly appear possible.

“I can’t say right now how much scope the three main stars will have in ‘Sarkar 2’. But Amitji, Abhishek and Aishwarya are going to be seen in a light not cast before,” revealed Varma, who has just directed Bachchan in Nishabd.

Askmen.com is a free online destination for men, a men’s portal, designed to provide men with daily features on subject matter that interests the general male population. The latest feature on their website is about the top 99 desirable women in the world with Jessica Alba making it to the number one position.

But it won’t come as a surprise to know that Aishwarya Rai and Mallika Sherawat feature amongst the top 99 of the most desirable women on Askmen.com. Aishwarya Rai is placed on number 40. Last year, she featured on number 47. Not far behind is Mallika Sherawat on number 78.

With oodles of talent and jaw-dropping look, the two beauties have been reining Bollywood for some time now. They have not only become a household name in India but also are gaining international fame and accolades.

Aishwarya Rai has already created a niche for herself in the international market with loads of good work in her kitty. With her impending marriage with Abhishek Bachchan being much talked about, she is surely at the peak of her career right now. Mallika’s claim to fame was the film Murder, after which there was no stopping her! Both these stunning beauties were recently seen in Mani Ratnam’s Guru.

The much-awaited wedding of Bollywood stars Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan is the most talked about subject in Pakistan, a visiting team of Pakistani journalists said. Not only in India, but in Pakistan also Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai impending marriage is one of the most talked about topics.

The eight-member delegation of Pakistani journalists, who arrived in India recently on a 12-day tour, prayed at the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisthi. Talking to the media, Tahir Mohammed Khan, a senior reporter from Pakistan said, “There is no difference between the two countries in terms of hospitality and affection.We are getting the same amount of love and affection here in India that we get in our country.” “Hindi movies are a craze in Pakistan. The much-awaited wedding of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai is the most talked about subject in Pakistan.” The delegation would also visit Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

So Aishwarya, intentionally or unintentionally, you just did a wonderful thing. Consider yourself of a small yet an important role in India – Pakistan friendly relations. Good luck!!!!

Gorgeous Aishwarya Rai won the Star of the year award (female) at Max Stardust Awards held last night on February 18 in Mumbai.

Aishwarya got the award for her electrifying performance in Sanjay Gadhvi’s ‘Dhoom 2′.

Aishwarya’s would-be husband Abhishek Bachchan however need not feel undermined, as Jr. Bachchan received best actor award in supporting role for his powerhouse performance in Karan Johar’s ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’.

Besides Star of the year award (female), which went to Aishwarya Rai for ‘Dhoom 2′, its director Sanjay Gadhvi bagged Hottest Filmmaker Award for the film.

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The winners of the Stardust Awards 2007 are as follows: 

• Star of the Year (Male)  - Sanjay Dutt (Lage Raho Munnabhai)
• Star of the Year (Female) - Aishwarya Rai (Dhoom:2)
• Best Actor in a supporting role (Male) - Abhishek Bachchan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)
• Best Actress in a supporting role (Female) - Ayesha Takia (Dor)
• Best Actor in a negative Role (Male) - Saif Ali Khan (Omkara)
• Superstar of Tomorrow (Male) - Shiney Ahuja (Gangster)
• Superstar of Tomorrow (Female) - Kangana Ranaut (Gangster)
• Breakthrough Performance Award (Male) - Kunal Kapoor (Rang De Basanti)
• Breakthrough Performance Award (Female) - Gul Panag (Dor)
• The New Menace - Shaad Randhawa (Woh Lamhe)
• Hottest Film Producer - Kumar Mangat (Omkara)
• The Dream Director Award - Rajkumar Hirani (Lage Raho Munnabhai)
• The Hottest Young Filmmaker - Sanjay Gadhvi (Dhoom:2)
• New Musical Sensation (Male) - Zubeen Garg (Ya Ali)
• New Musical Sensation (Female) - Rekha Bharadwaj (Namak Ishq Ka)
• Standout Performance by a Musical Director -  Mithoon (Bas Ek Pal)
• Standout Performance by a Lyricist - Virag Mishra (Zinda Hoon Main)
• Lifetime Achievement Award - Mithun Chakraborty

An accident took place on the sets of Jodha Akbar. It has been learnt from different sources that Aishwarya Rai hit Hrithik with a sword, and in result Hrithik sustained a minor injury while shooting a swordfight scene for Ashutosh Gowariker’s forthcoming period film ‘Jodha-Akbar’.

It was an accident and unintentional, a unit member said. “There was a slight lapse of timing in the swordfight scene and Hrithik ended up getting injured by Ash’s sword,” said the unit member who was present at the shoot.

But so professional Hrithik is however didn’t stop shooting after the incident.

Earlier, Hrithik while learning horse riding for this film had fallen from a horse and got wounded.

Be careful Hrithik. Take a day off and relax buddy.

In the film, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai will play the title roles of Akbar and Jodha respectively.

Lol…..SHOCKED!!!!!

I think you need to take some time and read the complete story. It’s not what you think it is

British Asian filmmaker Gurinder Chadha says she is expecting twins and plans to name them after two of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, who recently announced their engagement.

Chadha, 47, said she had already told former Miss World and Bollywood beauty Aishwarya that she had selected names for the babies. “I told Aishwarya if I have a boy and a girl, I’ll call them Ash and Abhishek,” she told The Times of India newspaper.

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

Well how sweet of Gurinder!!! That’s a very nice gesture. However Ash and Abhishek will now be brother and sister. Lol

BTW, Chadha, who was born in Kenya but grew up in London, collected her Officer of the Order of the British Empire, or OBE, award on Tuesday from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth at London’s Buckingham Palace for her contribution to the British film industry.

I hope you do like “Bend It Like Beckham”

Director Jagmohan Mundhra’s Provoked starring Aishwarya Rai is a real life story dealing with domestic violence. The film was sent for censorship late last month wherein it was passed with an ‘A’ certificate. This incidentally miffed the director.

“The film Provoked deals with domestic violence wherein Aishwarya Rai is subjected to physical, mental and verbal abuses by her husband. Hence the film had many abusive words. So we had to give it an adult certificate,” says Censorship Examining committee member Nandini Sardesai.

She further adds, “But Mundhra was not content with this outcome. So he agreed to delete the four letter words and got the film for re-censorship. Now it has been given a ‘U/A’ certificate.”

Sardesai says that Mundhra felt the need for the film to reach a wider audience because of its delicate issue. Giving the film an A certificate would have, thus limited the audience in the theatres. As a result, he agreed to delete abusive language from the movie.

Additionally, in order to reach a cross section of the society, Mundhra is also dubbing the film in the Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu languages. However, Mundhra will have to apply independently for censorship of each dubbed version.

Though the release date of the film isn’t finalized, Mundhra is planning to release the movie after 4 April, once the exam and the Cricket World Cup fever subsides.

The film was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006.

No matter how big a celebrity you are, blessings of the Almighty are always sought before a special occasion and the case of the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai is no different.

With Ash all set to tie the knot with Abhishek Bachchan , the actress’s mother Vrinda Rai has performed a special puja at Nagabana in Sonthady near Kasargod, her birthplace.

The puja was performed Thursday morning by Vrinda in keeping with the traditions of Tulunadu culture is an annual affair, a close relative of Ash said on condition of anonymity in Mangalore on Friday.

All members of the family, except for Ash, took part in the puja to ‘moola nagadevata bana’ at Sonthady, the relative said.

Ash’s father Krishnarajendra Rai arrived in Mangalore from Mumbai Thursday morning and performed puja in the temple of Dharmasthala, he said.

Ash and Abhishek got engaged at a quiet ceremony in Mumbai on January 14. The engagement came about one-and- half-months after the couple, accompanied by mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan and his wife Jaya Bachchan , offered prayers at the Varanasi temple.

All eyes turned to Bangalore when Ash’s family astrologer Chandrashekhara Swami, based in Mulky, was consulted on the alliance as Ash had ‘Kuja dosha’.

Those who still haven’t seen Dhoom 2 and those who want to see the movie again only for the Aishwarya Rai - Hrithik Roshan kiss are in for a disappointment as the scene has been chopped off from the film.

Reports say that the Bachchans asked Yashraj Films to axe the scene that shows their to-be daughter-in-law doing a “bold smooch”.

However, ‘Dhoom 2’ director Sanjay Gadhvi has refused to comment on the issue and maintains that his relations with Yashraj Films haven’t been effected due to the controversy.

The kiss had raised eyebrows and sparked off controversies soon after the movie was released on November 24 last year.

A lawyer had even filed a legal suit against Ash and Hrithik. However, no formal action has been taken against Yashraj Films.

The Bachchans never approved of the Ash-Hrithik kiss and speculation was rife that Abhishek Bachchan had stopped talking to Hrithik after seeing the kissing scene.

Now with the Ash-Abhishek wedding round the corner, it seems the Bachchans are all out to get a clean image of their would-be bahu.

For some reason, i was shocked to see that scene. I am glad it’s over and done.

No more talks about it!

Way to go Aishwarya!!!!

The gorgeous Aishwarya Rai , who is all set to become the daughter-in-law of the Bachchan household, now has another reason to celebrate.

Ash, who got engaged to her Guru co-star Abhishek Bachchan on Sunday, is among 25 Indians who figure in this year’s list of 250 Global Young Leaders by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum.

Those chosen for the honour also include director Karan Johar, MPs Omar Abdullah, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Naveen Jindal, Managing Editor of NDTV Vikram Chandra, Chief Managing Editor of HT Media Raju Narisetti and Prince Shivraj Singh of Jodhpur.

The Forum selects young leaders from various fields every year based on their professional accomplishments, their commitment to society and their potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world. The selection committee is chaired by Queen Rainaof Jordan.

Also on the list are MP B G Pundlikrao, Chief Financial Officer of ICICI Bank Vishka Mulye, Vice President of Tata Sons Mukand Govind Rajan, Managing Director of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Satish Reddy, Vice President Infosys Technologies Subhash Dhar and President of the Parks Hotels India Priya Paul.

The Young Global Leaders 2007 include 125 business leaders, as well as leaders from governments, academia, media and society at large from nearly 70 countries.

“This unique global network has the potential to tackle global challenges through knowledge sharing and leveraging horizontal networks of collaborative platforms. Together, they form a powerful international force for the global common good,” said Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum in New York on Tuesday.

Schwab said The Forum of Young Global Leaders will be a voice for the future in global thought processes.

Co-founder of Ortel Communications Jagi Mangat Panda, Executive Director of Godrej Industries Tanya Dubash, Neeraj Bharadwaj of Apax Partners, Managing Director of PVR Cinemas Ajay Bijli, Amit Burman of Dabur India, Amit Chandra of DSP Merrill Lynch and Arvind Kejrival of Parivartan also find their names on the list.

Also included are G V Sanjay Reddy of GVK Industries, Ramesh Ramanathan, founder of Janaagraha, Jignesh Shah of Financial Technologies and Ruchir Sharma of Morgan Stanley Investments.

The new class represents all regions, including nominees from East Asia (50), Europe (50), Middle East and North Africa (25), North America (50), South Asia (30), sub-Saharan Africa (20) and Latin America (25).

The current community of 416 Young Global Leaders represents 90 countries and includes Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google; Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia; Kumi Naidoo, Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, Civicus: World Alliance for Citizen Participat ion; Daniela Mercury, Singer, Brazil; and Michelle Guthrie, Chief Executive Officer, Star Group.