Sanjay Leela Bhansali Flexes Rules For Aishwarya Rai

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known to be a stickler for rules, but he has flexed them for Aishwarya Rai so that she can attend the premiere of ‘Paa’. She is shooting for Bhansali’s ‘Guzaarish’.

"It's no big deal. Adjusting my schedule is the least I can do for someone who has been a dear friend for many years. But this was not done for Aishwarya. It was for 'Paa' and Amitji. It's a very special moment for the family," Bhansali said.

Releasing on Friday, ‘Paa’ is produced by AB Corp. The film is about a father-son-son-father relationship - while Abhishek Bachchan plays a politician, Amitabh will be seen as his 13-year-old son suffering from Progeria, a disease that accelerates ageing.

While Aishwarya will play a perfect host at the ‘Paa’ premiere on December 3, Bhansali will shoot solo scenes with the film's leading man Hrithik Roshan.

Aishwarya is not just Sanjay's leading lady. After doing three films together, they are a family. Sanjay saw how stressed Aishawarya was trying to balance her tight schedules for 'Guzaarish' with the time required to pitch in with real-life pa for 'Paa'.

"In fact, Mr. Bachchan has been running around alone inviting the film fraternity for the premiere on December 3 since Abhishek has been shooting non-stop in Goa for Ashutosh Gowariker and Jayaji is in Delhi attending parliament," said a friend of Bhansali and Aishwarya.

"When she expressed her helplessness about not being available for Amitji to make arrangements for the premiere, Sanjay made up his mind to give her those crucial days on and before the premiere off, although it meant considerable schedule adjustment on his part," added the friend.

Aishwarya has been managing her ‘Guzaarish’ schedule and her duties as a hostess for family events to the best of her abilities. On Saturday evening she was present as an integral part of the Bachchan family with husband Abhishek, sister-in-law Shweta and Big B’s brother Ajitabh Bachchan's kids for a poetry reading on Harivansh Rai Bachchan's birth anniversary.

"She had little time to prepare her poems. But she recited Harivansh Rai Bachchan's lines like a true Bachchan," said a close friend of Aishwarya.

Aishwarya Bachchan To Star In Movie ‘Mumtaz Mahal’

Aishwarya Bachchan is once again gearing up to play a historical role. This time she will be seen playing queen Mumtaz in the movie ‘Mumtaz Mahal’.The actress who portrayed the stunning role of ‘Jodha’ in the legendary movie ‘Jodha Akbar’ will once again dazzle in the silver screen with her beautiful looks in the character of Mumtaz.

The movie is being directed by Anglo-Indian actor Ben Kingsley who earned fame with the historical role of Mahatma Gandhi in the movie ‘Gandhi’. The actor also won Academy Award for his role. Ben on being asked about his motive behind the historical venture said, “With my passion for India and the Taj Mahal now becoming one of the Seven Wonders of the World, I am compelled to ask 'why' and 'how' this scream of grief frozen in marble came into being."

Ben will be playing the character of Emperor Shah Jahan in the movie. The shooting of the film is expected to commence on July 2010. The two actors will bring back to life the true love story on screen once again

Aishwarya Rai Is Now The Goodwill Ambassador For Smile Train NGO

Smile Train, a NGO which works for children with cleft lip, has named Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as their goodwill ambassador on Sunday.

Aishwarya’s charity organization Aishwarya Rai Foundation has entered into partnership with this NGO for spreading the awareness and gathering more sources for this initiative.

"God has given me plenty of reasons to smile and I feel it's time to spread it around. There are a lot of children out there who so desperately need help, but can't receive timely care because their families cannot afford this surgery or are ill-educated about this condition. Working with Smile Train, if I can make a difference in their lives, it will certainly make me feel honoured and blessed," Aishwarya said.

Aishwarya will now render her help for the NGO so that the children with cleft lip can undergo surgeries.

Smile Train officials feel Aishwarya will be of immense help in taking forward their movement globally.

"Aishwarya's universal appeal and star power will be a priceless asset to our organisation, and we consider it a great privilege to have her represent our organisation," Smile Train president Brian Mullaney said.

"Her poise, intelligence and dedication to our mission will catapult the work that we do to new and exciting heights. Since she is a global superstar, it makes her the perfect representative for our global organisation. There is no corner of the world where she isn't known, and in each of those corners, there is a Smile Train hospital that is helping kids every day of the year," he added.

The rising concern for kids born with a cleft was raised worldwide through Smile Train's recent Oscar-winning movie "Smile Pinki". The document which was for a time of 39 minutes showed the changes experienced by an Indian girl in her life after undergoing the surgery. The movie, which has been made both in Bhojpuri and Hindi, is the recipient of 81st Academy Award under the category of Best Documentary (Short Subject).

Aishwarya Rai Not Affected By Swine Flu

Aishwarya Rai is not keeping good health, but it is due to chest infection and not due to swine flu.

According to sources, she had been shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish despite her ill-health.

As her condition has worsened, she has been advised to take rest because of the shooting of Guzaarish has been put off for two days.

Aishwarya is currently taking medicines and is at home, taking rest.

Aishwarya Rai Suffering From “Flu-Like” Symptoms

Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is suffering from a "chest infection" as well as "flu-like symptoms", which is worrying Amitabh Bachchan.

"Aishwarya has taken ill and is down with chest infection and flu like symptoms. She had a high fever yesterday, but is settling down today," he told via his blog.

"It's worrying to be so far away from children and not be there to look after them. Yes, they are mature and married and responsible, but children will always remain children," he added.

The actor is currently in Singapore where his friend and Samajwadi Party leader, Amar Singh, is taking rest after undergoing treatment.

"I stay back till he (Amar Singh) is sound enough to travel back," he wrote.

Aishwarya Rai In World’s Top 10 Most Beautiful Women

Former Miss World and Bollywood actress, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, has yet another feather in her cap. The Bachchan “bahu” has been ranked as one among the ten most beautiful women of the world by the Harpers & Queen magazine.

The list is topped by Hollywood star, Angelina Jolie. Other celebrities in the list include Christy Turlington, Queen Rania of Jordan, Sofia Coppola, Nigella Lawson, Uma Thurman, Emmanuelle Béart, Kate Moss, Aishwarya Rai and Charlotte, of Monaco in the top ten list.

Shahrukh Khan & Aishwarya Rai War Ends

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan will be seen together once again for Shahrukh Khan’s next home production. They were on a cold war for the past 7 years.

Aishwarya Rai and Shahrukh Khan had a clash while filming ‘Chalte Chalte’ when Shahrukh Khan had cast Rani Mukherjee instead of Aishwarya because of an brusque behaviour of Salman Khan on the sets. After the incident, SRK and Ash almost stopped talking.

But things changed after Karan Johar’s birthday bash. Ash and Shahrukh joined hands after King Khan had apologized to her for the wrong and forgetting the past later Ash, Abhi, SRK and Gauri set the dance floor on fire.

Shahrukh Khan desired to cast Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in his next production and sources confirmed that she too has agreed to play his ladylove.

The movie is ready to roll by the end of 2010.

Aishwarya Rai Is Today's 'Dreamgirl', Says Hema Malini

For Bollywood's original 'dreamgirl' Hema Malini, beauty queen-turned-actress Aishwarya Rai is the only one who deserves the 'dreamgirl' tag among all the new age actresses.

"Whoever is on top is the dreamgirl. I feel it is Aishwarya Rai," Hema told on being asked who, according to her, deserves to be called the 'dreamgirl' among new age actresses.

Taking about the hardships an actress has to face, she said: "An actress' life is the same - nothing has changed. It is what it was even 20 years back. They have to work very hard, make themselves look beautiful and need a lot of dedication to remain at the top," said Hema, who was in this suburb of the national capital Monday to felicitate winners of supermarket Big Bazaar's 'Meet The Dreamgirl' contest.

Dressed in a pale yellow, elegant sari, the 60-year-old actress was at her forthright best.

When asked about her future projects she said "I've signed two films which are held up because of the financial crisis in the whole world. Otherwise I would have finished those two and they would have released by now."

"One is with Nana Patekar which Deepa Sahi is directing, and the other is with another producer. It is not right to expose everything about a film".

Another film that Hema is working on is "Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi" - in which she will play a role based on the life of prominent political figure Vijayaraje Scindia.

Hema, who has delivered hits like "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Satte Pe Satta", and "Sholay" in the past, has plans of venturing into production. “I'm planning to start production. I don't want to say much about it because every time I talk about these things, they never happen. It's my desire to make lovely films because I am an artist and a very creative person," she said

"But filmmaking is not a joke...so many things are involved," she added.

The actress, who had her directorial debut in 1992 with Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Dil Aashna Hai", says she would want to be a liberal producer and not want to impose her ideas on the youth.

'Jodhaa Akbar' - 2009 IIFA Awards Winners

Ashutosh Gowariker's historical romance 'Jodhaa Akbar' won as many as 10 awards including the best movie at the 10th edition of International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) award ceremony held at Macau on Saturday (June 13). The extravagant cine event was attended by over 12000 guests. Hrithik Roshan walked away with the best actor award while Ashutosh Gowariker bagged the best director award for the film 'Jodhaa Akbar'.

Aishwarya Rai To Perform At 2009 IIFA Awards Ceremony

Bollywood's sizzling actress Aishwarya Rai is all geared up to perform at the 10th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards function, slated to be held in Macau on June this year. As per an official release of IIFA, Aishwarya will enthrall the audiences at the Venetian-Macau Resort on the night of June 13. Super Amitabh Bachchan, who happens to be the father-in-law of Aishwarya Rai, is the brand ambassador of IIFA.

Apart from Aishwarya, other actresses like Sonam Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor will perform at the 10th IIFA event. Sonam will appear on the stage for the first time. Boman Irani and Riteesh Deshmukh will play hosts to the cine event in Macau. The duo had also hosted the last year's event in Bangkok. Boman Irani and Riteesh will be accompanied by beauty queen-turned-actress Lara Dutta.

The 2009 IFFA awards ceremony will continue for three days from June 11-13. It is expected that about 500 dignitaries and celebrities from Bollywood will attend the grand cine event. The award function at Macau is likely to end the deadlock between India and China over the exchange of cinema. According to an official of Wizcraft, the organisers of the event, the 10th year of IFFA will be celebrated at Macau and it will open the gateway for Indian cinema to the West.

Hrithik-Aishwarya Pair To Be Seen In Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Guzaarish'

'Jodhaa Akbar' pair, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai will be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming flick 'Guzaarish'. The new film is expected to hit the cinemas by the end of 2009. 'Guzaarish' is the remake of Christopher Nolan’s hit movie 'The Prestige'. The project is a 50-50 joint venture between Bhansali and UTV. Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai were earlier seen in an UTV production ' Jodhaa Akbar'.

As per media reports, it was Salman Khan who suggested Bhansali for remaking 'The Prestige'. Salman got annoyed when Bhansali roped in Hrithik instead of him. Salman Khan has also decided not to work with Bhansali again. Apart from acting in Ashutosh Gowariker's 'Jodhaa Akbar', both Hrithik and Aishwarya have worked together in 'Dhoom2'.

Hollywood movie 'The Prestige' has been adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 World Fantasy Award-winning novel of the same name. Featuring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and David Bowie, the film deals with the themes of duality, obsession, sacrifice, and secrecy. The plot of the film revolves round the rivalry between two magicians.

Aishwarya Rai Still High In International Endorsing Product

It is no longer the face of brands like Coca-Cola and Nakshatra diamond jewelry from India, Aishwarya Rai, but is always high on the success of riding and duration of international endorsements.

Aishwarya Rai has completed nearly a decade of approval Swiss luxury watch brand Longines and international Lux soap. It was also the brand ambassador of global hair care brand L'Oréal since 2003.

Noted ad-man Prahlad Kakkar says Aishwarya is sought by well-known brands because it is more than just an actress and is often seen as an ambassador of India.

"Aishwarya Rai has never been a big or major endorser of Indian products. It has an impressive list of international brands, its name and because it is not just an actress who can be judged on the failures and successes, but the fact that it is a representative of the Indian woman and is an ambassador of the country, "Kakkar, who made his reputation as Sanju in 1993 TV commercial for Pepsi, told IANS on phone from Mumbai.

Even the representatives of the brands that feel Aishwarya approves it adds a new dimension to their products.

"Aishwarya Rai has been associated with us since 1999 and is a great help. Not only in this country but also globally, "Charles Villoz, Vice President (sales) of Longines International, had already said.

"People all over the world love Bollywood films and they will housefull. Whenever we traveled (with Aishwarya) the response was tremendous. It is a face, and we would like to continue this association as long as possible, "said Villoz.

For Aishwarya Rai, who made his presence felt through the English-language films like "Bride and Prejudice", "Mistress of Spices", "provoked" and "Pink Panther 2 ', the signature film and Visa been very selective case.

When she was approached to promote L'Oreal's cream bleach the skin, the beauty queen became an actress refused because she did not want to approve such a product especially in India, where color is an issue , said a source close to Aishwarya Rai.

"Whether it is films or endorsements, I am - and have been - very selective about my work. I take a job that suits me and is my schedule, "Aishwarya told IANS.

"I do not take projects that I can not handle because I believe in all respect the commitments made by me," she added.

Much has been said about dipping popularity Bollywood Aishwarya approval of the reign of Queen at 24-year-old Katrina Kaif replaced as the face of Nakshatra jewelry last year.

And speculation was widespread about the reason for the replacement, saying that Katrina has been roped in to add more youthfullness to the mark. He apparently was Aishwarya who have decided to disassociate itself from the image.

"There was a lot of noise when Hurricane Katrina as an ambassador of the Nakshatra brand. But is not that Aishwarya was dethroned, because the brand has been branching into the different accessories, the "source close to the former Miss World said.

"Ash had signed to De Beers Nakshatra brand. Later, De Beers sold the brand to Gitanjali group and they began to branch into accessories like hairbands, clips, etc. This is when she decided to disassociate itself from the brand, and later he is delivered to Katrina, "the source told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Aishwarya Rai, who celebrated his second wedding anniversary with actor husband Abhishek Bachchan Monday, also had personal reasons to withdraw his association with Coca-Cola, one of the biggest brands, it has been approved in India .

"Aishwarya Rai has never been asked to leave out a product, it has always been her own decision. When she left Coca-Cola, it was a decision only after it was going to marry because the Bachchans Abhishek no longer believe in the promotion and approval of soft drinks, "added the source.

According to the industry, close to the house takes Aishwarya Rai Rs.1 billion from advertising assignments annually.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Is Powerful Actress In Women's Race

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a woman of substance and there is certainly no doubt. Recently, a survey by a research organization of the popular, Hansa Research has revealed that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the most powerful actor in the women's race before the likes of Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif and even Madhuri Dixit.

It was the first research was conducted on such a scale to measure Celebrity Power in India, focusing on different attributes such as Popularity, the media, the power of persuasion and image attributes. India This research also revealed that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is among the most convincing and sympathetic celebrity in India. She also collected more than 98.8% of recognition and recall value which is at par with the legends of cinema as Amitabh Bachchan and cricket star Sachin Tendulkar, it is the only woman who is part of top 10 recognized celebrities from all walks of life.

The investigation also disclosed that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is clearly one of the most popular faces among the classes and the masses. In a society dominated by men otherwise Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is clear that the woman on top.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan To Be Barbie Doll

Like the Barbie doll is completing his 50th year, Mattel Toys has decided to launch a Barbie doll based on the appearance of the beautiful Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

The actress was approached by the makers, a couple of months. But Ash wanted to be sure to see all of the doll.

We talked about our source,

"Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is very happy and pleased that she has been approached for this honor. But it is very particular about his image and, therefore, did not want the doll to look at all that it was not at ease, "said

In addition, the source added that the first reports of the doll was good and Toys Mattel is now to accelerate the production and distribution of these dolls in India and abroad in countries like the United Kingdom and Dubai where Bollywood has a fan following, especially Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's fans.

About ash watch our source said: "Ash's Barbie will be very close to the superstar in real life and is completed with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's green eyes and designer costumes. In fact, the main designers were asked to create Indian and Western clothes to make Aishwarya Barbie.

With the Barbie doll Aishwarya Rai Bachchan together to reach our stores, the actress will join the ranks of Hollywood divas like Beyoncé Knowles, Elizabeth Taylor and Diana Ross, who all had their own limited edition celebrity Barbies.