Casting Ouch: Shilpa Vs Ash

'Pink Panther 2' casting has now become the hotly debated issue in Bollywood. Contrary to latest media reports, Aishwarya’s international agent Simone Sheffield says, "Ms Rai was the first and only choice to play Sophie in the Hollywood film Pink Panther 2."

The casting director Ilene Starger too endorses this fact by saying, "We did not offer the role to anyone other than Aishwarya. Period. Ash was the actress I envisioned when I read the script. Her intelligence, beauty and sophistication are just what the role requires. She fits in wonderfully with our fantastic ensemble cast, and all of us are thrilled to work with her.”

A couple of actresses claim to have refused the role Ash is starring in. It’s sad. If either of them had been offered a role in such a big budget international film, they’d have jumped at the opportunity instead of passing it up.”

Giving her side of story to SantaBanta, Simone says, "Please look at the original document received from Shilpa and you will see a standard letter signed by an office assistant and NOT by Ilene Starger."

"NO WHERE in the letter is there an offer for Shilpa to read, appear or even consider appearing in the film.....it is merely an invitation for Shilpa to submit a tape of herself. PERIOD.....this process is standard in the industry," she adds.

Last week, Ash shot for the film in Paris shooting alongside Steve Martin (who reprises his role as Inspector Jacques Clouseau) and Andy Garcia (Vincente) and has now returned to Mumbai to complete Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodha Akbar and Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar Raj.

- SantaBanta.Com

'I wanted none other than Aishwarya'

Refuting rumours about other Bollywood actors being offered a role in "Pink Panther 2", its casting director Ilene Starger said they only considered Aishwarya Rai.

"Most emphatically, we did not offer the role to anyone other than Aishwarya! Aishwarya was, when I first read the script, the actress I envisioned for the role," Starger told from Los Angeles in an e-mail interview.

Aishwarya shot for a day with Steve Martin and Andy Garcia in Paris Aug 20 for the film by Harold Zwart.

"Her intelligence, grace, beauty and sophistication are just what the role requires. And, of course, she has a touch of mystery too. She fits in wonderfully with our fantastic ensemble cast, and all of us involved with the film are thrilled to work with her."

Rumours had it that Celina Jaitley was offered the role first but rejected it. Also, Hrithik Roshan was asked to play detective Clouseau's assistant Vincent in part two of the comedy, but he too turned it down.

However, Aishwarya's international manager Simone Sheffield dismisses the reports.

Sheffield said: "Negotiations went on for a month to secure Aishwarya and her dates. The script is absolutely wonderful and the wardrobe is great.

"The film's costume designer Joe Aulisi has chosen some really hot items from Dolce & Gabbana. If any one of the actresses mentioned had really been offered this A-level role in such a big-budget international film, they would have jumped to join it and not have passed on the opportunity as they state, believe me.

"What I love about Aishwarya is that she just calmly continues along the path she has chosen, does her work, lives her life and never has a bad word to say about anyone."

Sheffield also has a lot to say about the actresses' absence at the unveiling of her statue at Times Square and for the promotion of her latest international film "The Last Legion".

"I see this trend happening more and more in the media with events falsely confirming Aishwarya's attendance to boost sales and media attention.

For one, Aishwarya was never confirmed to appear at the unveiling in New York City, nor did we confirm she was appearing on the late night talk show and a morning news programme during her brief visit to Los Angeles.

"She did, however, confirm she was appearing at India Splendor celebrating the 60th anniversary of India's Independence. When Aishwarya confirms an appearance, it is confirmed and she will without fail attend and always has.

"As for the promotions for 'The Last Legion', it is up to the producers and distributors of the film to make such arrangements and in this case numerous phone interviews with the international media took place over the past two months. There was nothing else requested of Aishwarya prior to the film's US release."

Sexy Bollywood Item Girls : Aishwarya Rai

She shocked everyone with her image when she appeared with Shah Rukh Khan in 'Ishq Kameena'. And who can forget 'Kajra Re' number with then-beau Abhishek and his father Big B.

Aishwarya Rai is not Pregnant!

Refuting the reports about Aishwarya Rai'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, the actress will fly to Europe for her third Hollywood venture which is a sequel to Hollywood blockbuster Pink Panther.

It is also reported that the actress 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 Bachchan to be directed by Tarun Mansukhani for Karan Johar's Dharma Productions early next year.

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

'I'm cutting down Ash's beauty!!!'

Ram Gopal Varma is currently in Hyderabad shooting for the sequel to Sarkar. The two Bachchand Amitabh and Abhishek are with him. Aishawarya is expected to join them later during the month.

"Aishwarya plays a very strong part with shades of negative in it. I'm completely changing her image. I'm cutting her beauty down. I've gathered a large supporting cast of ugly people and put her in the middle, so she'd come out looking stunning in her naturalness."

Apparently the two Bachchan men are so taken up with Aishwarya's part that they keep joking they could play her role.

Ramu is relieved to be away from Mumbai. "Hyderabad is like coming home for me. I belong to Hyderabad though I am a total Mumbaiyite now. Some of my early films were made in Hyderabad. So life has come a full circle," he says from Ramajirao studiow where a set depicting the home of the Bachchans has been built.

"Sarkar 2 is far more original than Sarkar. It will have far less of Godfather 2 than Sarkar had of Godfather 1. Sarkar 2 isn't about the mafia. It's a family drama."

And then a whammer of a confession. "I haven't made a single original film till Sholay. Every scene shot and frame of my earlier films have been copied from some source or the other. It could be a novel, a Hollywood or an old Hindi film. If I haven't been caught out it's because people haven't been able to locate my sources. Sholay is my first original film."

Sholay, says the incorrigible Ramu, isn't an underworld film. "It's almost a throwback to the kitschy films of the 1970s, like Nasir Husain's Yaadon Ki Baraat or Chori Mera Kaam. It isn't a gangster film nor a dacoit drama. The original Sholay created an excitement by giving the audience one slammer of a scene after another. I hope to do the same."

Ramu feels Nishabd to be the senior AB's most accomplished performance to date. "I personally think Sarkar was a cakewalk in comparison. To carry off a subject matter like that isn't very easy. However making Nishabd was a mistake. When Cheeni Kum did a old man-young woman love story there was a tongue-in-cheek element to it. Nishabd was too dark. There was resistance against seeing the film."

He ponders, " Mr Bachchan in Nishabd was over-cast. It should've been done with sn actor with a much less strong image. When Victor Bannerjee fell in love with a much younger woman in Joggers Park it didn't matter whereas there was outrage about THE AMITABH BACHCHAN falling in love with his daughter's friend in Nishabd.

To me Nishabd was Mr Bachchan's most accomplished performance. But I'd rather use him in a film like Sarkar where one closeup had more impact than the whole of Nishabd."

In Sarkar 2 Ramu is showcasing the senior and junior Bachchan keeping their image in mind. "Only Aishwarya gets the privilege of revamping her image," Ramu shoots off.

How Abhishek fell in love with Ash!!!

Abhishek Bachchan said his wife is uncomplicated and "always smiling," in a newspaper interview published Wednesday, describing how he met and fell in love with Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai.

Bachchan and Rai were married in April in what Indian media dubbed "The Wedding of the Century" — an extravagant affair that had photographers and cameramen camped for days outside their homes in suburban Mumbai.

The two became friends when they worked together on the 2000 movie "Dhai Akshar Prem Ke," but cupid didn't strike until they filmed "Dhoom 2" five years later, he told.

They were paired together again in Kuch Naa Kaho (2003) but it wasn't till Aishwarya and he jived together to the beats of Kajra Re in Bunty Aur Babli, right under the eyes of dad Amitabh Bachchan, that the sparks began to fly.

The romantic drama, Umrao Jaan, was supposed to be their big film together.

When it hit the floors Abhishek and Aishwarya had not started dating, but well before its release they were known, though not acknowledged, to be an item.

The film, though made with a lot of passion, failed to stir audiences and onscreen chemistry between the couple remained lackluster.

Dhoom 2 shortly followed Umrao Jaan. Though Abhishek was not paired opposite Aishwarya the two spent a lot of time together on the sets and that seems to have done it.

"We started dating in the latter half of the film as 'Dhoom 2' was shot for over a year-and-a-half," he said.

"There are so many things I love about Aishwarya. She's very human and unaffected and down-to-earth," Bachchan told The Times. "A simple little girl who is always smiling and that's very endearing."

But he said it was difficult to pinpoint when he fell in love.

"There was no defining moment as such," said Bachchan. "I cannot explain it in words."

Has life changed after marriage? Bachchan says Rai was pressuring him to change his diet.

"She tries to make me eat healthy food as she knows I have unhealthy habits," said Bachchan.

Aishwarya Rai Photo Gallery

Aishwarya Rai Pictures, News, Gossips and More

Why everyone still hates Ash-Abhi?

The fallout from the 'Wedding of the Year' seems to still be reverberating around Bollywood.

According to an Indian portal, it has now affected director Karan Johar. The 35-year-old director and talk show host is caught between the rest of Bollywood and Amitabh Bachchan.

It has been nearly two months since his son Abhishek married Aishwarya Rai in a grand wedding, but Amitabh's decision to leave out a large number of Bollywood's denizens from the nuptial guest list is still stinging for some.

When Karan announced that he is casting Aishwarya and Abhishek in his new project - the duo is now considered to be a box-office goldmine - his good friend and frequent collaborator, Shah Rukh Khan said he wouldn't participate in the film.

The 42-year-old actor has worked on most of Karan's films under the latter's company, Dharma Productions.

That decision could also be attributed to the simmering rivalry between Shah Rukh and the 64-year-old Amitabh. There are also actors who don't want to work the newly weds for fear of being overshadowed by them.

Meanwhile, a national newspaper reported that Saif Ali Khan, who had apparently agreed to work with Aishwarya and Abhishek in the venture, has pulled out.

While his busy schedule was the official reason, the Indian media speculated that the 36-year-old actor might have been afraid of having his star diminished by the couple.

The newspaper cited an unnamed source who said, “The dates could have been adjusted. But (Saif) decided to let go.”

Ash to appear in top US TV series!

Marriage to Abhishek Bachchan has not really slowed down Aishwarya Rai. Quite literally, since the former Miss World’s career hasn’t really hit a lull period post wedding.

Close on the heels of her bagging prestigious films with RGV and Karan Johar, the appreciation for her role in the UK film ‘Provoked’ and the news that her true blue international project, ‘The Last Legion’ will see the light of the day, comes the report that the emerald eyed beauty has been signed up to star in the top US sci-fi serial ‘Heroes’.

Heroes-TV.com has reported that the actress will appear in 8 episodes of the up coming series of the NBC show about ‘superhuman’ beings.

The science fiction drama television series, created by Tim Kring, premiered on NBC on September 25, 2006 and tells the story of several people who "thought they were like everyone else... until they woke with incredible abilities" such as telepathy, time travel and flight.

These people soon realize they have a role in preventing a catastrophe and saving mankind. The series follows the writing style of American comics with short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc and has actors of the caliber of Jack Coleman, Ali Larter and Hayden Leslie Panettiere.

It’s been said that Ash will play the role of Dr. Mohinder Suresh’s elder sister Shanti Suresh, and will have a super-power of her own, something which has not yet been disclosed.

Interestingly this gives Ash a chance to work closely with Sendhil Ramamurthy, an American actor of Indian origin who plays Dr Mohinder Suresh, a genetics professor at the University of Madras that is attempting to find the truth behind the sudden death of his father and continuing his father's research of locating the 'superhuman' beings on Earth.

However in one of the episodes, Mohinder’s mother has been shown telling him that his sister Shanti had died when she was five before his birth and whom Mohinder’s dad loved very much.

In another episode, Mohinder himself has been seen saying that he was born a few months too late to save his sister. So how Shanti Suresh i.e Aishwarya’s character now fits into the scheme of things in the script will be really interesting to watch.

Aishwarya will reportedly begin shooting in Los Angeles later this month, and is expected to be seen on-screen as early as October of this year. If all goes well, the Bachchan Bahu will indeed have a great time balancing Bollywood and Holywood! - Sneha Hazarika

Aishwarya Rai's Famous Interview

The incredible Indian beauty in a famous American night show .

Aishwarya Rai at a Late Night Show in America

The International Indian Film Academy Awards in Sheffield, England

Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai arrives on stage to collect the Most Glamorous Female award during the International Indian Film Academy awards at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England, Saturday June 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

The International Indian Film Academy Awards in Sheffield, England

Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai arrives on stage to collect the Most Glamorous Female award during the International Indian Film Academy awards at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England, Saturday June 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

The International Indian Film Academy Awards in Sheffield, England

Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai, center, celebrates winning the Most Glamorous Female award during the International Indian Film Academy awards at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England, Saturday June 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Aishwarya Rai pumps up the Brand Bachchan value

With the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai entering the Bachchan family-fold, the “Bachchan brand” value has now crossed the above Rs 700 crore mark.

According to financial analysts and trade experts, the Bachchan brand value is worth Rs 700 crore as Bollywood mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan are brand ambassadors for various products.

Ash, becoming a part of the family now, could add to that value by several crores.

Among the actors who endorse products, Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan are the highest paid stars who charge between Rs 4-5 crore for a single brand.

Ash, who was chosen by Time magazine’s Asia edition as one of Asia’s ‘100 most influential people’, is the brand ambassador for products like L’Oreal, Nakshatra Diamonds and Lux, to name a few.

Bachchan endorses products such as Reid & Taylor, ICICI Bank, Nerolac, Dabur India, Pepsi, Parker pens and Cadbury chocolates.

Abhishek endorses Ford Fiesta, Omega, Radio Big 92.7 FM, Motorola, LG Home Appliances, and American Express, among others.

Bachchan charges upto Rs 5 crore per ad, followed by Ash with Rs 3 crore per ad while Abhishek is not far behind. Abhishek’s brand value has recently gone up after delivering hits like Guru and Bunty Aur Babli .

The three stars have their own clientele and cashing in on the marriage, L’Oreal has introduced a limited edition lipstick shade under its colour riche range, tender beige for their brand ambassador Ash.

“This is the first time we have done something like this. We have never done this before,” says a L’Oreal spokesperson. The lipstick will be launched later across the country.

The more the Bachchans keep the marriage details a secret, the more people are going crazy. Brands are falling over each other to get the elusive Bachchans and their new bahu together.

Some of the other cricketers/ filmstars who have their own successful brands include Kajol and Ajay Devgan , M S Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Akshay Kumar to name a few.

The Bachchans have a huge fan following and whatever they do, fans emulate them. The products endorsed by them will be purchased by fans, adman Prahlad Kakkar said.

According to the trend today, filmstar marriages not only have entertainment value but are profitable business ventures worth several crores.

The case in point being the recent Elizabeth Hurley - Arun Nayar wedding held in Jaipur, the rights of which were sold to Hello! magazine for one million pounds.

But amidst all this the Bachchans are the main beneficiaries who will be laughing all the way to the bank.