Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan has always maintained a respectable relationship with megastar Amitabh Bachchan but the same cannot be said with ‘Bachchan bahu’ Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The face-off started when Ash abandoned Aamir Khan’s project Mangal Pandey at the last minute. Then Aamir called up his good friend Rani Mukherjee, who finally appeared in the film.

Buzz up!
However, they finally patched up after so many years and that happened at the 10th wedding anniversary of Akshay Kumar and his wife Twinkle. Ash and Aamir had a cold war, since these years but now they have settled the issues.

Usually, Ash does not stay in any party for more than 10 minutes but when she came to know that Aamir and Kiran Rao are on their way, the beauty queen waited for them to reach the party. When the couple reached the party, Ash went forward and bonded with the actor like never before. They spoke warmly and discussed about Kiran’s upcoming movie Dhobi Ghat. After spending some time together, Aamir had to leave early. Soon after his exit, Ash also left the party.

A source from the party revealed that both were seen very comfortable with each other and it seemed that they have forgotten the bitter past and planned to move ahead with good will of each other.

Now, when the dup has settled their issues, can we expect any joint project in near future?

GQ Men of the Year 2010 Awards were presented at a glittering ceremony that was attended by the top celebrities of the country. Hollywood star John Travolta was presented with the GQ – Legend Award by Aishwarya Rai and Aamir Khan collected his Cinematic Icon of the Year Award from Travolta at this high profile event.
Abhishek Bachchan was honored with the GQ Ultimate Man award and his wife Aishwarya Rai took home the Excellence award.

Priyanka Chopra is the Woman of the year and Ranbir Kapoor was declared as the Actor of the year. The Lifetime Achievement award went to Naseeruddin Shah and Karan Johar is the producer of the year.

In her latest film Raavan in Hindi and Raavanan in Tamil, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan plays Ragini, the wife of a police officer who is abducted.

It’s a role which involved working in tough terrain, heavy rains and amongst creatures of the jungle. In this interview, she speaks about her role, the challenges of working in a bilingual and her co-artists. Excerpts of a teleconference.

All about your character in Raavan and Raavanan
There has been a lot of talk that my character is based on a modern day Sita from “Ramayan”, which is not true. I think all the stories can be drawn parallel to our epics because at the end it is all about inter-personal relationship. My character Ragini is Mani’s perception of this strong willed woman abducted by Beera. And the story is about the dynamics between the three characters- Beera, Dev and Ragini.

You have come a long way from Iruvar to Raavanan
I came into cinema, thanks to Mani Ratnam. His passion and commitment is totally inspiring. And above all he makes every moment and scene real. The first word I uttered on screen is Pesanum (I want to talk), in Iruvar and since then I have been talking. His characterization is superb. In Raavanan, I play Ragini an individual and markedly different from Sujata of Guru or Kalpana or Pushpa from Iruvar. Ragini is a firebrand, a fighter and yet a normal complete woman.

About Mani Ratnam, the master filmmaker
Mani Sir is an institution in himself and his cinema speaks volumes. There is so much we can learn from him. It’s just wonderful how he brings everybody on the same level of passion and madness when it comes to filmmaking. With Mani it is being the student of art you want to learn more. He ignites the hunger in you as an actor, wanting to do something better with every shot.

Abhishek and Vikram have said in their interviews that you are the true hero of the film. Please comment
That is very sweet and generous of them but they have both have done an incredible job. But I think the real heroes are the whole team of Raavan, the set designers, workers, everyone who was on the set everyday, working as hard, if not more than us. We used to start at five every morning and end at night. It was exhausting. We have all worked hard.

How was it working with Vikram and Prithviraj?
We fondly refer to Vikram we as Kenny sir and I think I got familiar with that name because Abhishek always called him that since the time he had come to visit Abhishek on the sets of Guru. One thing that Abhishek and I consciously did but left unsaid was we never acted like a couple in front of Vikram or it would have been hard for him to essay his role opposite me. Prithvi is absolutely adorable. At the start of the schedule we used to tease him because he seemed a bit reserved but after the first schedule he came into his own and was right on the ball.

2010, hitherto, hasn’t been very successful for the Bollywood planet with most of the films biting the dust. Except for Shahrukh Khan’s ‘My Name is Khan’ and Aamir Khan’s ‘3 Idiots’, the response has been lukewarm and discouraging.
But, the summer promises to be hotter as two of the sexiest women gear up for a battle ahead.
1. Katrina Kaif- With the IPL fever set to die down, Bollywood’s next awaited release will feature glam doll Katrina Kaif in the most challenging and meatiest role of her career thus far. In ‘Rajneeti’ where she plays a woman politician (loosely based on Sonia Gandhi’s life), Katrina has an opportunity to showcase her acting mettle. For a change, she would be wearing a simple sari and not those itsy-bitsy clothes which have made her a perfect eye candy in a slew of hot films.
2. Aishwarya Rai- Don’t blame it on the climate, if the temperature becomes unbearably hot this summer. As after a long gap, Ash is set to invade the theatres with ‘Raavan’ where she plays Sita (a modern day take of the epic Ramayana). Besides, she will take us back down those beautiful memory lanes of the 70s in ‘Action Replayy’ opposite the sexy Akshay Kumar.
So, it was worth a wait. But, now the time has come for a screen war between the two glittering stars to fight for the crown. It’s experience v/s. experiment. It’s Aishwarya v/s. Katrina. Let the war begin……..

AISHWARYA Rai Bachchan has opted out of Crooked, a thriller in which she was meant to be paired opposite Abhi- shek Bachchan, as her dates were clashing with Vipul Shah’s movie about time travel, Action Replay. A search is on to replace to the actress for this movie that also stars Farhan Akthar and will be directed by Abhinay Deol, the new director in Bollywood who is also making Aamir Khan’s next home production, Delhi Belly

It might sound highly childish or silly and foolish when we say that Kareena Kapoor is deeply insecure about her beauty. And you know from whom? Of course, the one of the most beautiful ladies on earth Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Apparently, when Bebo found out that Ash adorned the cover of film magazine with the cover story as 50 most beautiful people, Kareena got one done for herself too but on a different magazine.
A source reveals that after Bebo found out that Aishwarya Rai was gracing a ’50 Most Beautiful People cover on a film magazine, she pulled strings and managed to get herself on the cover of another magazine doing the same story on the 50 most beautiful people in the country. Gosh!
We don’t understand when you have the likes of Aamir Khan falling head over heels for your beauty, why do you need to resort to such cheap measures to make yourself feel beautiful. We hope you have heard the phrase Beauty lies in the eyes of the Beholder, Bebo! It’s up to the readers to decide who’s looking beautiful.

The big Khans of Bollywood – Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan [^], Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan [^] are not attending this year’s IIFA Awards function but Bollywood’s power couple Abhishek Bachchan [^] and Aishwarya Bachchan have managed to heat up Macau.Abhishek and his wife Aishwarya have arrived Macau for the 10th edition of IIFA Awards. The couple looked happy and excited. Abhishek even got hold of the video camera of one of the journalists and gestured to the onlooking fans. He said that the event would be fantastic.

Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador of the IIFA Awards 2009. Actress Lara Dutta will host the awards ceremony along with Boman Irani and Riteish Deshmukh. Jackky Bhagnani, who is making Bollywood debut with Kal Kissne Dekha is going to perform at the event.

Despite rumours Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai remain a happily married couple. The two celebrated their second marriage ceremony in Europe before returning back to India to shoot for their next Mani Ratnam film.

Earlier it was expected the two leading stars of the Indian filmdom will celebrate their wedding anniversary on the sets of the film Ravana. But finally they were able to enjoy a quite wedding anniversary somewhere in Europe.

Says a source, “Last year, Abhishek was slogging it out in Miami for Dostana and Aishwarya joined him there for their first Wedding Anniversary.

This year, they were again supposed to be working, though happily together, for the next schedule of Mani Ratnam’s Raavan on their anniversary.”

Forbes magazine has put Aishwarya above SRK, Aamir Khan and her former boyfriend Salman Khan in terms of her international appeal. Aishwarya’s husband Abhishek Bachchan is nowhere in the picture. Abhishek’s name does not find any mention in Forbes magazine’s list of Hollywood’s most bankable stars from across the globe. Aishwarya Rai is at least 200 ranks above the second ranked Indian star on the list Aamir Khan and around 400 ranks above Shah Rukh Khan.

Aishwarya Rai is one of the most successful actresses of Bollywood. When most actress of her age have turned dotting wives and moms, the former beauty queen is experimenting in new and newer roles that are coming her way. She is still much in demand in Bollywod and also in Kollywood from where she began her acting stint.

Her beauty still sets films on fire and ensures the success of the film. Her endorsing a product ensures producers that the company will get better response from consumers. With her father in law and husband she makes the biggest Bollywood brand in the country.

Often acclaimed as the most beautiful woman in the world, Aishwarya Rai made her movie debut in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film Iruvar in the year 1997 opposite Mohanlal. She had her first commercial success in the Tamil movie Jeans 1998, and came to the attention of Bollywood through her blockbuster Hindi movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in 1999.

The film directed by celebrated film director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was a super duper success. The film won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award, and she successfully performed in Bhansali’s next project, Devdas opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the year 2002. the film gave her second Best Actress Award at the Filmfare.

Since then, Aishwarya Rai has acted in over forty movies in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, and English, including the international productions Bride & Prejudice (2003), Mistress of Spices (2005), and The Last Legion (2007) in English.

In the meantime Aishwarya Rai is excited about teaming up with hubby Abhishek Bachchan for Mani Ratnam’s next film, but is reluctant to reveal much about the movie. “It’s a really exciting thought for me and Abhishek to be coming together again with Mani Ratnam. All I can say about the film is that it goes into a completely different theme from Guru,” said Aishwarya, who turns 35 on Saturday.

“You can’t expect Mani sir to go into the same space twice. Working with him is an exciting thought for any actor. The way he connects to his actors is very clear in the films he makes. He creates magic on screen,” she added.

Aishwarya considers Guru, in which she paired with Abhishek, a very precious experience. “It has been a very precious experience on every level, and not just on a personal level. I’d say it was professionally very fulfilling.”

The lukewarm response to her recent Hollywood release Pink Panther-II has had Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (35) conceding her position as the most popular face of Bollywood.

In the West to the new international craze 24-year-old Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), who according to reliable sources has been signed for two films — one with Woody Allen and the second with Julian Schnabel.

Freida, who is said to have earned over two million pounds, overtaking Bollywood beauties like Aishwarya, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif is also, according to a world film distributor, being wooed to walk the red carpet at Cannes in May 2009.

On the Bollywood front, Kareena Kapoor (28) has nudged Aishwarya Rai Bachchan out of the Filmfare Top-10 Power list.

But a producer from Chennai confirms that Ash is still the highest paid Indian heroine and has reportedly been paid a fee of Rs six crore for Shankar’s Robot, where she is cast opposite Rajnikant.

The actor is said to have received a cheque of Rs one crore as signing amount, that is also a first. Usually it is only the leading men who receive such a big sum as a signing amount. Reportedly, Rajnikant himself is said to come with a price tag of Rs 25 crore for the same film. He will also get a share in the profits since Robot will be released in Hindi and Tamil.

The Tamil superstar will be on top of the heap even as far as Bollywood heroes’ prices go. Regarding Aishwarya’s price, her manager Hari Singh said, “Aishwarya is definitely one of the highly paid actors in the country, but I would not like to comment on the price she has been paid.” Singh also said that exaggerated prices often made the rounds.

Closer home, Kareena Kapoor has reportedly been paid Rs 2.5 crore for Sajid Nadiadwala’s Kambakkht Ishq. Nadiadwala refuses to comment on his heroine’s price but says, “She has been paid what she deserves.”

According to him, with film corporations in the fray, there is more transparency involved and people can actually check prices. “But that is a whole load of hogwash,” says a trade consultant. “Bollywood still continues to be ambiguous with its payments. What is shown on paper is not necessarily the right price.”

Katrina Kaif is said to have been paid Rs 2 crore for Ramesh Taurani’s Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Priyanka Chopra Rs 2 crore for Vishaal Bharadwaj’s Kaminaay. Of the leading men, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar have last been paid Rs 21 crore for Ghajini and Singh is Kinng, plus a reported share in the profits.

Shah Rukh Khan is said to have had a share in profits for Aditya Chopra’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and he is a partner on Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan, as Johar himself was quoted saying, “It is difficult to put a price tag on SRK.”

The first ‘bahu’ of Bollywood, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, may have competition back home from sis-in-law Shrima Rai, who won first runners-up at the Shrima Rai
Mrs India contest. We speak to the lady…

How did Mrs India happen?
I was busy with investment consulting for Standard Chartered, when I decided to send my portfolio to Gladrags. I was shortlisted and here I am.

All your family was there except Aishwarya. Why?
All my family was there to support me. Pa-in-law and mom-in-law were nervous, but Aditya was the most nervous! Ash could not come as she was busy shooting for her film, but that didn’t stop her from calling and messaging me.

Did you get some modelling tips from her?
Ash is a pro at walking the ramp and has won pageants too. She shared some tips with me regarding the walk and expressions, but the one important thing she told me was that I should forget about everything and just enjoy the experience. And that actually helped me a lot.

Tell us about your chemistry with the Rai family. How did you meet Aditya?
Aditya and I are distantly related and met at a party hosted by a common aunt. We hit it off instantly and soon decided to marry. After the marriage, we stayed with his family for three years and that was when I bonded with Aishwarya too. Aishwarya has always been this bubbly girl.

Did she discuss her personal relationships at home?
Like any other person, she did discuss her personal stories too. But, it wouldn’t be correct for me to comment now. She’s happily settled with Abhishek and I’m happy for her.

What do you like best about Abhi-Ash?
They are one of the cutest couples I have ever known. They are so close that they complete each others’ sentences. It’s absolute fun to watch them narrate their experiences, of a shoot or anything else. They both add so much humour to it that by the end of it we’re in splits. They also tease each other like kids.

Are you open to movie or modelling offers?
I haven’t been approached so far, but yes, I’m open to such offers.

Any directors you would like to work with?
Mira Nair, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rituparna Ghosh, Karan Johar… I like their work and everyone of them has a different vision and it would be a dream to explore them all!

Who are the actors you really admire in Bollywood?
I would start with Ash, then Rani, Kangana, Abhishek, Shah Rukh Khan, Amit Uncle and Aamir Khan!